May We Meet Again
by winchesters-girl3112
Summary: Killian is taken to Storybrooke with the Dark Curse where every day is the same until a blonde bombshell rolls into town. The more time Killian spends with Emma, the more strange dreams he starts to have. Particularly dreams about a girl with dark hair and blue eyes called Jack. What Killian doesn't know is this girl is also searching for him, and has been for the past 300 years.
1. Prologue

**Hey everyone! So this is my first Once Upon A Time fic so please be nice with me on this one, although constructive criticism is always welcome! Quick disclaimer, unfortunately I don't own much of this story, just any original material that is not in the show. This will be the same for every chapter so I'm just gonna do this disclaimer here and now instead of repeating myself all the time! I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Summary: 

Killian separates from Cora to find the Crocodile on his own, only to be taken to Storybrooke by the Dark Curse. He is, however, unaware of the one who has desperately searched for him for the last 300 years. How will this affect the rest of the story if Killian and Emma met before the curse was broken? And what will happen when Killian's past finally catches up to him. I plan on this being quite a long fic with a _very_ different OC. It will primarily be Captain Swan but there will be lots of other ships as well as differnts arcs and adventures, although it will be relatively canon throughout season 1, 2 and 3a but it will change at 3b because of my OC. Don't worry though, I plan on bringing her in much earlier than 3b!

* * *

Prologue:

Jacquelyn heard her brothers trudging up the stairs, finally home from working all night at the docks. She pulled her blanket up to her chin and squeezed her eyes shut, pretending that she had been asleep all night, before her brothers peered behind the curtain to check on her. A knowing look was shared between the two eldest members of the Jones family.

"I don't know, Liam," the younger brother began, his sea blue eyes holding a mischievous glint. "Our dear sister seems so tired, it would be a pity to wake her."

"My thoughts exactly, Killian, we should leave her to sleep," the older boy responded, barely containing the smirk that was spreading across his face.

"But you promised you would wake me up so I could see the birds in the town square," the young 7-year-old cried, her ruse of restful sleep forgotten as she sat up in bed.

"Ah, but how can we make good on our promise if there's no need to wake you up," Killian said, raising his eyebrow at his younger sibling. This obviously didn't sit well with Jacquelyn, as she petulantly stuck her tongue out at her brother, causing Killian to let out a small chuckle.

"Now, now, you two. That's enough teasing for this morning," Liam chastised, even though he himself was resisting the urge to smile at his younger siblings' antics.

"You will still let me stay up to watch the birds with you though, won't you?" Jacquelyn said sheepishly. She had meant for it to sound sweet and innocent – she knew that she had her brothers wrapped around her little finger – but her tone was laced with worry that they would make her go back to bed.

"Well…" Killian began, with a sly look to his brother.

"I don't suppose it would hurt just this once," Liam concluded, returning Killian's glance.

Jacquelyn beamed at her older brothers and jumped out bed, her too-big nightdress trailing on the floor behind her as she rushed to her window. Liam and Killian joined her at her window and pushed the wooden shutters open for her, the light of dawn streaming into the room. Killian lifted his sister up so that she could get a better view of the giant oak tree that stood in the middle of the cobbled town square.

Liam ran a hand over his face. He was exhausted; both brothers were. They really needed as much rest as possible before they started another long shift on the docks, and it was foolish to think that they could forego whatever little sleep they could get. But the smile on Jacquelyn's face when she saw blue tits and the finches flapping around the leaves of the oak tree, the way it lit up her features, both brothers knew that it was worth sacrificing some of their energy to see their little sister so happy.

Suddenly, Jacquelyn let out a huge yawn. "I do love watching the sparrows and the other birds in the morning, but must they wake up so early?" she complained.

"It's just in their nature sweetheart, especially the sparrows," Liam replied.

"But why is it in their nature, Liam?" she asked him sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

Liam and Killian shared a look over their sister's head that said exactly what they thought. _Stubborn lass._

"It's because," Killian began, grabbing his sister's attention. "The sparrows are remarkable creatures. No matter what kind of day they have had previously, whether they caught they best worms to eat" he continued, tickling his younger sister and making her giggle hysterically, "or were almost eaten by a hawk, sparrows always have hope for a new day. It's this extraordinary hope that motivates them to wake up bright and early, to see as much of the new day as they possibly can." Killian stared down into his little sister's face and saw an awed expression etched into her features at her big brother's explanation.

That is, until it was replaced by a confused frown. "But why are they so hopeful, Killian?"

The brothers shared an exasperated sigh, which turned into a rueful smile. "I think it's high time you went back to sleep, young lady, that's enough questions for one day," Killian said, switching Jacquelyn's position from on his hip to in front of him by placing his other arm under the backs of her knees. He carried her back to her bed while Liam unfolded her blanket so that she could be tucked in again.

"But I'm not sleepy," Jacquelyn said through a yawn.

"Of course you're not," Liam said sarcastically, already seeing her eyelids drooping. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight, Jacquelyn."

Killian repeated his brother's actions, and got up to follow him to their room, but was stopped before he disappeared behind Jacquelyn's curtain.

"Killian?" Jacquelyn asked quietly.

"Yes, Jay-Jay?" he answered her.

"Will you sing to me so that I can go to sleep?" she asked him with her big pleading eyes.

Killian fixed her with a hard stare, but it was no use; he eventually caved in and went to sit down on the side of her bed.

"Alright, but only until you fall asleep," he said. Jacquelyn grinned, knowing full well she was getting her own way, and closed her eyes as Killian began to sing the familiar lullaby.

" _Upon one summer's morning,_

 _I carelessly did stray,_

 _Down by the Walls of Wapping,_

 _Where I met a sailor gay._

" _Conversing with a young lass,_

 _Who seemed to be in pain,_

 _Saying, 'William, when you go I fear you'll never return again._

" _My heart is pierced by Cupid,_

 _I disdain all glittering gold,_

 _There is nothing can console me._

 _But my jolly sailor bold…"_

Killian barely finished the first chorus before Jacquelyn was asleep, her breathing becoming deeper and more even. Killian smiled fondly down at his younger sister, and brushed a lock of her raven hair away from her face. "Goodnight, Jack," and he kissed her forehead once more before walked out of her room to collapse into his own bed.

* * *

Deputy Killian Jones woke up from his strange dream to the sound of his roommate, Graham, knocking on his bedroom door and telling him to wake up or they would be late for work. Pushing the unusual dream to the back of his mind, he sat up in bed and ran a hand through his messy, black hair. Welcome to another day Storybrooke.


	2. Chapter 1: Hide and Seek

**Hey, guys! I won't make this author's note too long but I thought I should give you just a bit of background info into the small change of Killian having a little sister. I'm aware that he doesn't have one in the show, but I've have this idea for a while now and I thought it was time to publish it. Updates might not be great over the next few weeks because I have loads of exams but as soon as they're finished I'm hoping to update at least once a week. This story will follow the main plot of season 1 up to season 3b, I've planned something else for when everyone returns from Neverland but that's a while off yet. Anyway, I said I wasn't going to make this too long so I'll cut this short now. Send some reviews my way guys, they are my fuel for writing!**

* * *

Chapter 1: Hide and Seek

Emma woke up with a dull ache throbbing lightly in her head. Sitting up, her vision clearing as the blur of sleep faded away. Emma's stomach dropped when she saw where she was; in a jail cell. _What the hell,_ she thought. Slightly panicked she looked around a bit more and her eyes fell on a short, grumpy looking man in the cell next to hers.

"What are you looking at, sister?" he asked her, his tone laced with attitude.

 _Gee, so much for small town hospitality,_ Emma thought as she looked away.

"Hey, Leroy – manners!" an older man said in a thick Italian accent. "We have a guest! So you are, eh, Henry's mother. How lovely for him to have you back in his life."

Oh no. There is was. The expectation that she was here to stay. She winced internally as she remembered the flutter her heart did when she opened her door to the small boy who claimed her was her son, on her birthday of all days. Emma couldn't afford to get attached, especially not to Henry. The last time she had been close to anyone was ten years ago and… well, things with Neal hadn't exactly ended well. No, she would have to keep her walls up and set everyone straight about what was going on here.

"Actually, I was just dropping him off," she corrected. _Yes, you are, Emma – just dropping him off…_

"Don't blame ya. They're all brats, who needs 'em?" Leroy huffed.

"Well, I'd give anything for one," Marco said, straightening up from repairing one of the desks. "My wife and I, we tried for many years, but, uh… it was not meant to be," he finished, looking sorrowful.

Before Emma could offer her condolences Leroy interrupted; "Well cry me a river."

"Leroy!" came the voice of the rather good-looking Sheriff Graham Emma had met last night. "I'm going to let you out; you need to behave," he said, unlocking Leroy's cell. "Put on a smile, and stay out of trouble."

Leroy begrudgingly put on a fake smile, though Emma thought it was more of a grimace. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from down the corridor and a tall man with dark hair and startling sea blue eyes came around the corner with a brown paper bag in his hand and a container holding three coffees. "Morning, Leroy," he said in a British accent, smirking at him.

"Bite me, pretty boy," Leroy glared at him before stalking out of the sheriff's station. The man smiled slyly at Graham, who in turn gave him a mildly reproving look.

'Blue Eyes' walked over to Emma's cell and leaned against one of the desks. He really did have the bluest eyes Emma had ever seen, framed by dark lashes and perfect eyebrows, and jaw line that could cut through… Wait a minute, perfect eyebrows? Where had that come from?

"Thought you might be hungry," he said to her, passing her the brown paper bag through the bars. Emma took it gratefully and peered inside.

"Seriously?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I know it may not be the healthiest breakfast option and yes some of the stereotypes are true but you can take it or leave it, love," he said, flashing her a charming smirk. Emma felt the corners of her mouth twitch upward in an involuntary smile as she pulled out her bear claw donut.

"Do I get name to go with my donut and coffee?" she asked him as she swapped him the paper bag for the coffee he was giving her.

"Name's Killian Jones, I'm the deputy," he told her with a wink. Once again the corners of Emma's mouth twitched. "So, you're Henry's mother?" he asked her, trying to make conversation. She groaned inwardly.

"Yeah, that's me. Can you tell me why I'm in here, Deputy Jones?" Emma asked, quickly steering the topic of conversation away from Henry. Killian seemed to notice her non-too-subtle topic change as he raised his eyebrows slightly at her, but he decided to let it drop.

"Regina's drinks are a little stronger than we thought," Graham said, setting down some papers on a desk and walking to join Killian.

"Knowing her, she probably spiked them," Killian muttered, quietly enough so only Emma heard.

Resisting the urge to smile at his quiet remark, Emma said, "I wasn't drunk; there was a wolf standing in the middle of the road."

At this Killian raised an eyebrow at her before glancing over to Graham who was staring at Emma like she was nuts.

"A wolf. Right."

"Full moon was it, Swan?" Killian asked sarcastically.

"Graham!"

Killian rolled his eyes dramatically when Graham got off the desk and turned around to see Regina coming in.

"Henry's run away again, we have to-," she stopped. "What is _she_ doing here?"

 _Nice, mature,_ Emma thought, sharing a quick glance with Killian to see that he was thinking exactly the same thing as her.

"Do you know where he is?" Regina asked Emma, storming over towards her cell, her eyes furious.

"Lady, I haven't seen him since I dropped him off at your house, and," Emma indicated to the bars, "I have a pretty good alibi."

Killian snorted at her comment, and tried (and failed) to disguise it as a cough. It was a good job looks couldn't kill, because the way Regina was looking at Killian he would have hit the floor the second she turned round to face him.

"Yeah, well, he wasn't in his room this morning," Regina continued, getting back to the matter at hand.

"Did you try his friends?" Emma asked.

"He doesn't really have any. Kind of a loner," Regina said in a blasé tone that made Emma's blood boil. How could this woman not care that her son had no friends? But then again, no one had ever cared that Emma didn't have any friends. Still, it should be different for Henry, he was supposed to have a parent looking out for him, if that's what you could call Regina anyway. Killian looked ready to hit something with the way Regina just dismissed Henry like that.

"Every kid has friends," Emma said, pretending not to notice how wound up Killian seemed to be at the way Regina dismissed Henry like that. "Did you check his computer? If he was close to someone he's be emailing them."

"And you know this how?" Regina asked harshly.

"Finding people's what I do," Emma said, struggling to keep the bite back from her words. "Here's an idea; how 'bout you guys let me out and I'll help you find him."

* * *

A little while later, the group of four had found that Henry had used a credit card from a Miss Mary Margaret Blanchard, so Emma, Killian and Regina headed to the school while Graham searched the other parts of the town.

Regina barged past all of the children hurrying outside for recess and headed straight for Miss Blanchard.

"Miss Mills, what are you doing here?" the sweet, pixie-like teacher said, sounding thoroughly confused and a little intimidated.

"Where's my son?" Regina asked viciously.

"Henry, I assumed he was home with you," Mary Margaret asked innocently.

"You think I'd be here if he was? Did you give him your credit card so he could find her?" Regina snapped.

That was when Mary Margaret seemed to notice Emma standing back with Killian. "I'm sorry, who are you?" she asked Emma.

 _Good question._ What was she meant to say to that?

"I'm – I'm his -,"

"The woman who gave him up for adoption," Regina cut her off abruptly. Emma was a little pissed at that, but Regina was right. That's all Emma was to Henry, that's all that she could allow herself to be – no attachments.

"You don't know anything about this, do you?" Emma asked, letting it slide, not noticing Killian clenching and unclenching his fists at his side all the while glaring daggers at Regina.

"No, unfortunately not," she replied, digging through her purse to check for her credit card. "Clever boy," she sighed when she couldn't find it, "I should have never given him that book."

"What the hell is this book I keep hearing about?" Regina asked impatiently.

"Just some old stories I gave him. As you well know, Henry is a special boy: so smart, so creative…" she trailed off, uncertain about whether she should broach this next subject, "and as you might be aware, _lonely_. He needed it," Mary Margaret said.

"What he needs is a dose of reality," Regina glared at her. Emma had finally noticed Killian's growing impatience with the woman, and practically had to stand in front of him to prevent him from confronting her.

"This was a waste of time. Have a nice trip back to Boston," Regina said as she stormed out of the room, spitefully knocking over a pile of books on her way out.

Killian let out a growl of frustration toward Regina once she had left, and went to join Emma in helping Mary Margaret pick up the fallen books, his anger draining away from him like energy from a coiled spring.

"Sorry to bother you," Emma said.

"No, it's – it's okay. I fear this is partially my fault," Mary Margaret replied, sighing as she put the books back into place.

"How's a book supposed to help?" Emma asked.

"What do you think stories are for? These stories? They're classics. There's a reason we all know them. They're a way for us to deal with our world, a world that doesn't always make sense. See, Henry hasn't had the easiest life," Mary Margaret concluded as she, Emma and Killian walked out of the classroom.

"Yeah, she's kind of a hard ass," Emma replied. Killian muttered something behind them that sounded a lot like "understatement".

"No, it's more than her. He's like any adopted child. He wrestles with that most basic question they all inevitably face: why would anyone give me away?"

Killian visibly cringed at Mary Margaret's tactlessness and how the colour had drained from Emma's face at her words. Realising what she said, Mary Margaret tried to make amends.

"I am so sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean in any way to judge you…"

"It's okay," Emma said, though clearly those words had affected her more than she was willing to let on.

"Look I gave the book to Henry because I wanted him to have the most important thing anyone can have," she continued. "Hope," she elaborated when she saw Emma didn't know where she was getting at. "Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing."

"You know where he is, don't you?" Emma said with a knowing smile.

"You might wanna check his castle," Mary Margaret replied, grinning cheekily.

"Of course, why didn't I think of that sooner?" Killian chastised himself. "Come on, I'll drive you, I know where it is," he said to Emma, and he placed a hand in between her shoulder blades to usher her out of the school. "Catch you later, Mary Margaret."

* * *

"So, you seemed pretty pissed at Regina before," Emma said, trying to figure out the man driving her car.

"She has a habit of doing that to people," Killian replied tightly.

"You don't really strike me as the kind of guy that blows his top just because someone is being snarky with him," she replied, casting an eye on him. "But as soon as she says something degrading about Henry you look like you're about to burst a vein," Emma continued, noticing how his shoulder tensed and his hands gripped the wheel harder at her observation.

"Henry's an amazing lad," Killian began, a small smile gracing his features when he mentioned the younger boy. "But Mary Margaret is right, he is lonely. He doesn't have many friends his own age, if any at all. But he and I have always been close. Regina used to rope me in to babysitting him when he was younger, and he and Graham have always gotten along. The whole town cares for the boy but there's only so much we can do for him. Regina is a bitch by no stretch of the imagination, but I didn't really think that she would be this manipulative as to making him feel as though he's crazy, the lad doesn't deserve that."

By the time Killian finished his rant, his knuckles were white on the wheel. Emma felt sick. This was the kid that she wouldn't hold, wouldn't even look at after he was born, the kid that she needed to give up for adoption to give him his best chance because she wasn't fit to be a mother. And after all that, to find out he hadn't gotten his best chance, well, it was heart-breaking. A tear rolled down hear cheek, and she quickly wiped it away, hoping that Killian didn't notice.

Unfortunately, he did.

"You can't blame yourself, Swan," he said, sighing. "You weren't to know that this would be where he ended up."

But that only made Emma feel worse. She had no idea where he would end up, hell, he could have ended up in the system and have just as shit of a time as she did. _She_ should have been the one who had guaranteed his safety, with her. But then again, she probably wouldn't have been any better than Regina.

"He wasn't always like this," Killian continued in an attempt to make her feel better. "He was always a mischievous kid," he chuckled. "Always caused trouble at the station if Graham and I ever had to watch him when he was younger. Despite what you might think, Swan, he has not had a terrible life," he said, finally parking the car up and turning to her. "So don't beat yourself up about it, love. You're here now, and if my instincts are right, you may be staying here a while."

Surprisingly, Killian was right. Emma did feel like she wouldn't be able to leave until she knew Henry was okay. And though the guilt still ate away at her, his words did comfort her knowing that Henry had been looked after and loved, even if it wasn't by the woman who was supposed to be his adoptive mother.

Seeing that his words had made Emma see sense, he smiled at her. Not a smirk, not a cheeky grin, a real smile. And Emma, against her better judgement, smiled back.

"His castle's just round that corner, you can't miss it," he said.

Emma reached into the back seat and picked up Henry's book that he had left behind in her car the day before. She opened her door and turned back before she got out. "Thank you," she said to Killian, and for more than just a lift to Henry's castle.

Understanding shone in his eyes. "I'll wait her for you," he promised her.

And with that, Emma got out of the car to talk to Henry.

* * *

Henry was sitting on his castle, alone. That's how he felt at the minute – alone. Maybe he was alone for a reason. Maybe his mom was right and he really _was_ crazy. After all, he'd been staring at the clock all morning and it still hadn't budged, even after he brought Emma to Storybrooke. Sighing dejectedly, he was just deciding to leave when he felt Emma sit down beside him.

"You left this in my car," she said, smiling at him as she handed his book back. The cheeky, mischievous part of him grinned internally, remembering how he planted the book in Emma's car so that she had no choice but to come back.

"Still hasn't moved, huh?" Emma said, pulling Henry from his thoughts.

"I was hoping that when I brought you back, things would change here. That the final battle would begin," Henry sighed.

Emma smiled at him sadly. "I'm not fighting any battles, kid." _I can barely fight my own demons right now._

"Yes, you are," Henry insisted. "You're here because it's your destiny! You're going to bring back the happy endings."

Emma couldn't take this. This kid was asking something that was impossible; she couldn't give him his happy ending, she couldn't _be_ his happy ending.

"Will you cut it with the book crap?"

"You don't have to be hostile, I know you like me," Henry said, a cheeky smile playing on his lips and Emma felt as if she'd known that smile for years. "You're just pushing me away because I make you feel guilty. It's okay, I know why you gave me away."

 _Oh God, this kid thinks that I gave him away because I didn't love him, he really thinks that little of himself,_ Emma thought. She cringed at waiting for his response, not daring to look at him.

"You wanted to give me my best chance."

Emma felt her stomach drop at those soft words he spoke. This kid was ten, how could he look at her and practically see straight through her? How could he know her more than anyone else had in her entire life after less than a day?

"How do you know that?" she asked him.

"It's the same reason Snow White gave you away!" Henry persisted.

"Listen to me, kid. I am not in any book," Emma said, beginning to get emotional at the mention of being abandoned as a baby. "I'm a real person. And I'm not savior." How could she be? "You were right about one thing, though. I wanted you to have your best chance." _And I'm sorry you didn't get it._ "But it's not with me. C'mon, let's go," she said, giving Henry a sad smile as she stood up.

"Please don't take me back there!" Henry cried, standing up and hurrying to Emma. "Just stay with me for one week, that's all I ask! One week, and you'll see I'm not crazy," he pleaded with her.

This was really not looking good for Emma; because she desperately wanted to stay. And that terrified her because that was a completely new feeling to her, she had never had a real home, never had a reason to want to stay anywhere. She couldn't afford to let herself become attached.

"I have to get you home to your mom," Emma replied. Who was she kidding? Even if she did stay, she couldn't be a mother to Henry. As soon as he was home she would hightail out of here and head straight back to Boston, and never butt into Henry's life again.

"You don't know what it's like with her. My life _sucks_!"

"Oh, you wanna know what _sucking_ is? Being left abandoned on the side of a _freeway_ ; my parents didn't even bother to drop me off at a hospital!" Emma cried, her emotions finally spilling over her walls. There was no way she could take care of Henry, a kid who clearly had issues, when she herself was an emotional wreck. "I ended up in the foster system and I had a family until I was three but then they had their own kid so they sent me back." Emma tried to collect herself when she saw that Henry was crying along with her.

"Look," she began, getting down to his eye level. "Your mom is trying her best. I know it's hard. And I know sometimes you think she doesn't love you. But at least she wants you. And you have a lot of people in this town that care about you: Miss Blanchard, Sheriff Graham, Killian; they all do."

"Your parents wanted you, too. They didn't leave you on the side of the freeway; that's just where you came through," Henry implored.

"What?" Emma asked, thoroughly confused.

"The wardrobe," Henry explained. "When you went through the wardrobe you appeared on the side of the street. Your parents were trying to save you from the curse."

Emma gave him what was an attempt at a reassuring smile. "Sure they were. C'mon, Henry."

Seeing that he wasn't going to convince her just yet, Henry followed Emma back to her car, slipping his hand into hers. He was not aware of how that small and simple action caused a huge crack to appear in her walls.

* * *

Henry ran straight past Regina and into the house while Emma and Killian stayed on the path in front of Regina.

Regina turned back to face the deputy and Emma. "Thank you," she said, though somewhat begrudgingly.

"No problem," Emma replied.

"He seems to have taken quite a shine to you," Regina said. Killian smiled in Emma's direction, his heart warming at fact that Emma made Henry happy. He only hoped she would stick around, for Henry's sake.

Emma let out a small, sad laugh. "You know, it seems kind of crazy. Yesterday was my birthday, and when I blew out the candle on this cupcake I bought myself, I made a wish; that I didn't have to be alone on my birthday."

Killian's smile turned sad at that; no one should have to buy themselves their own birthday cake because they had no one to celebrate with them.

"And then Henry showed up…" Emma's face brightening before Regina cut her off.

"I hope there's no misunderstanding here," she interrupted.

"I'm sorry?" Emma asked, confused.

"Don't mistake all this as invitation back into his life," Regina replied.

 _Well, the lad did run all the way to Boston as well as spending hundreds of dollars to find her and get away from you, so I would say it's a bloody good invitation,_ Killian thought, his anger spiking up at Regina's words.

"Miss Swan, you made a decision ten years ago. And in the last decade, while you've been doing – well, who knows what you've been doing -,"

"Alright, that's enough, Regina," Killian interrupted, his barely contained anger practically radiating from him.

"Deputy Jones, know your place," she snapped back, glaring daggers at Killian. He looked as though he was about to argue back, but decided against it and settled for glaring at her instead.

Returning her attention back to Emma, Regina continued. "As I was saying, I have changed every diaper, soothed every fever, and endured every tantrum. You may have given birth to him, but he is _my_ son."

"I was not -," Emma tried to defend herself, becoming increasingly more furious with Regina.

"No, you don't get to speak," Regina interrupted once more. "You don't get to do anything. You gave up that right when you tossed him away. Do you know what a closed adoption is? It's what you asked for. You have no legal right to Henry, and you're gonna be held to that. So I suggest you get in your car, and you leave this town. Because if you don't, I will destroy you if it is the last thing I do. Goodnight, Miss Swan, Deputy Jones."

Regina turned around and walked back to her house, leaving a furious Emma and Killian in her wake. Killian was just about to take Emma's arm and lead her back to her car; she was so still he thought she might have gone into some kind of shock. So it startled him when she spoke with a sense of complete calm and conviction.

"Do you love him?" she asked, halting Regina as she was in the doorway.

"What?"

"Henry. Do you love him?" Emma repeated, her voice dripping with cold fury.

"Of course I do," Regina replied after a beat, and slammed the door once she was inside.

 _Hesitation,_ Killian thought.

Emma stormed back towards her car and slid into the driver's seat, igniting the engine once Killian was in the passenger seat.

"You alright, Swan?" Killian asked nervously after a few moments of tense silence.

"Perfect," Emma replied shortly.

"I'm sorry about what Regina said, you didn't deserve any of that."

"No, I might not have deserved it but it was exactly what I needed to hear for me to get my ass in gear," Emma replied, her knuckles white on the wheel from the remnants of her anger.

"I'm sorry, I'm not following you," Killian admitted.

Emma sighed before relaxing some of the tension out of her shoulders. "Henry was right before, I gave him up because I wanted to give him his best chance. And now I've seen that he doesn't have it, and you're right, I'm not leaving until I know that he's gonna be okay. If anything, with the way Regina's acting, she's only making me want to stay more," Emma finished, just as they were pulling up to the sheriff's station.

She looked over at Killian to see that he was smirking at her. "What?" she asked.

"You really are something else, aren't you, love?" he said to Emma, making her eyebrows shoot up. "It's just that, well, when Regina threatens someone to do something they usually do it, me being the rare exception since I'm one of the few members of this town that isn't in her pocket. There's certainly more to you than meets the eye, Swan," Killian said, his sea blue eyes staring directly into Emma's forest green ones, the intensity of his gaze clashing with the casual way he leaned back in his seat.

"Well, thanks for the ride, love. I've got no doubt that I'll be seeing you round town more often," Killian said with a wink, and got out of Emma's car to walk over to his own.

"Oh yeah, what's that supposed to mean, Deputy?" Emma shouted out of her window at him.

"That you'll probably be the making of this town, and the death of me." He flashed a smile at her with his brilliantly white teeth before getting into his car.

Emma mulled over the past day she'd had while she was on her way to book a room at Granny's Inn for a week. Her son showed up at her door on her birthday, she found out he had one psycho-ass bitch of a mom, and there was something about Deputy Killian Jones that intrigued her. Maybe she would end up booking more than just a week at the inn…

* * *

 **Don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 2: Operation Cobra Step One

**Hey everyone! I thought I might post another chapter since it was on my computer and I'm really excited about this fic. How did everyone like the first two chapters? If anyone has any questions about it give me a review or pm and I'll try my best to answer it without any spoilers. Hope you enjoy chapter 2!**

* * *

Chapter 2: Operation Cobra Step One

Regina woke up that morning feeling refreshed. Seeing as though Miss Swan was suitably threatened, Regina thought that she would no longer be an issue. That was one problem out of her way, now she just had to get rid of that infernal book Henry had received from Snow White. Even in this realm she was still finding ways to ruin Regina's life.

Regina found Henry's book in his room and began flipping through it. Of the pages that she saw, it was scarily accurate, recounting everything in perfect detail. Well, almost everything – the last few pages were missing. _Of course they are, just the one's I needed._

She met Henry downstairs as he was getting ready for school. "The missing pages, where are they?"

"It's an old book, stuff's missing. What do you care?" he replied defiantly.

"I care because you think I'm some sort of evil queen. And that hurts me, Henry. I'm your mother," Regina said, stroking his cheek.

"No, you're not," Henry shot back, pulling away from her touch as though she was poison.

"Well, then, who is? That woman you brought here?" Regina asked, hurt and angered by Henry's withdrawal. "I don't like what she or this book is doing to you. Thankfully, both are no longer an issue," she said, hiding her smugness. However, it faded away when Henry looked at the floor and began shuffling his feet suspiciously. "What?" she asked, concerned. Just then the chiming of the clock tower echoed throughout the town, causing Regina to spin round in shock and completely miss Henry's sharp exit. _That's impossible._ Regina needed to get rid of Emma Swan, and fast.

* * *

Killian decided to leave his car at Granny's and pick it up at lunch later on; he could use the fresh air. Walking towards the sheriff's station, he noticed the familiar yellow bug parked outside of the inn. _Well, well, well._ Deciding that he still had enough time before he had to be in for work, Killian thought he would pay Emma a visit just to see how she was settling in. Well, at least he told himself that that was the only reason. The certainly was something very intriguing about Emma Swan. Walking up to the room Granny had directed him to, he froze halfway up the stairs when he heard two voices already having a conversation.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy them on your drive home," came Regina's voice, the fake smile physically audible within her tone. _Of course, you would be here,_ Killian thought dryly. He plastered himself to the wall, being careful not to make so much noise as to give his presence away.

"Actually, I'm gonna stay a while," he heard Emma respond. A sly smirk graced his features. _Bet Regina will love that._

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Henry has enough issues, he doesn't need you confusing him."

"All due respect, Madame Mayor, the fact that you have now threatened me twice in the last twelve hours makes me want to stay more."

Killian stifled a laugh that would have given him away. _Oh, Swan, you've definitely got some nerve picking a fight with Regina._

"Since when were apples a threat?" came Regina's voice, her fake smile sounding more strained by the second.

"I can read between the lines. Sorry, I just wanna make sure Henry's okay," Emma said, and Killian smiled at the sincerity in her voice.

"He's fine, dear," Regina snapped, all traces of her smile apparently gone. "Any problems he has are being taken care of.

Killian bristled at the same time Emma said, "What does that mean?". He knew that Regina had put Henry into therapy; it made him furious. Henry was a smart lad, with a brilliant imagination – but that didn't make him crazy. What kind of mother made her own son feel like a lunatic? Henry tried to act as though he wasn't bothered by this, that nothing would discourage him from believing in the curse, but Killian knew he sometimes doubted himself. If Regina wasn't careful she would end up ripping away her son's childhood innocence. Killian couldn't bear to let that happen; it's why he endorsed Henry's curse fantasy so much.

"It means I have him in therapy," Regina replied nonchalantly, which only infuriated Killian more. How could this woman be so blasé about Henry's wellbeing? "It's all under control. Take my advice, Miss Swan, only one of us knows what's best for Henry."

"Yeah, I'm starting to think you're right about that," Emma said, her tone obviously implying that it was not Regina, and Killian could only agree whole-heartedly.

"It's time for you to go."

"Or what?" Emma challenged. _Oh, I'm really starting to like you, Swan._

"Don't underestimate me, Miss Swan. You have no idea what I'm capable of." And with that, Regina stormed down the hallway towards the stairs. Killian started walking up the stairs to make it seem like he had only just arrived. "Deputy," Regina greeted him moodily.

"Madame Mayor," he responded, turning to watch her stalk out of the inn. Killian sighed and climbed the last few steps to see Emma peering out the doorway of her room, the light from the window of her room casting shadows in the hollows of her cheeks. She really was a beautiful woman.

"Checking up on me?" she asked, bringing Killian out of his thoughts. "Well, I hate to break it to you but Regina can't scare me off that easily, I think I can handle her myself."

"Oh, I can see that," Killian said, raising an eyebrow. "You're one of the only people I've ever seen stand up to her."

"Yeah, well, she needs to be stood up to. Was there any specific reason for you coming to see me?"

"I just wanted to see how you were settling in," Killian replied casually. "But I see that Regina beat me to it."

"Just trying to scare me out of town," Emma said, stepping back inside and opening the door wider, indicating for Killian to come in. "God, what is her problem? Did you know she has Henry in therapy?"

"Aye, that I did," he said, his previous anger dulling to more of an annoyance about that now that Regina wasn't there.

"If anyone needs therapy, it's her – the woman's a psycho!"

"She is a royal bitch, isn't she?" Killian said, smirking at the fact that Emma hated Regina just as much as he did, if not more. She noticed his smirk and her lips twitched in response, causing small creases to appear around her forest green eyes.

"So, how long did you book your room for?" Killian asked after a moment, tearing his eyes away from hers and opting to look around the room, shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.

"A week, but I told Granny that I would probably end up staying longer," Emma answered.

"Oh, I've got no doubts that you'll be here for a lot longer than a week," Killian smirked, turning back to face a confused-looking Emma. "Well, I'd better get to the station or Graham will skin me alive for being late," he said before Emma could ask him what he meant. "I'll see you around, Swan," Killian said, pausing in her doorway to turn and throw a devilish smile her way before he made his way back down the stairs.

* * *

"I don't know why I play darts with you, mate – you beat me every time," Killian grumbled once he and Graham had settled into their booth at Granny's.

"Ah, you're just a sore loser," Graham smirked as Ruby placed their coffees in front of them. Killian muttered something into his mug about Graham cheating before he took a sip, causing Graham to laugh at him. He and Killian had been working together for as long as they could remember, and Killian had become Graham's new roommate shortly after becoming his new deputy. The two were like brothers; though at the minute they were acting like 8-year-old brothers with how childish they both were being.

"So, have you seen that Emma's still in town?" Graham began.

"Really? I thought she went home after she found Henry," Killian replied, feigning ignorance. He didn't want to seem as though he was doing anything more than checking up on Emma, which is obviously what Graham would see it as if he told him.

"Yeah, I saw her car parked outside the inn today. Wonder what she's doing here."

"Maybe she just wants to make sure Henry's okay," Killian said, quoting Emma's earlier words. "After all, it's not easy on him having a mother like Regina."

"Kil, c'mon, that's not fair," Graham chastised. Killian rolled his eyes. He knew all about Graham's affair with the mayor, even though he hadn't necessarily told him about it. But just because Graham was his best friend didn't mean he had to agree with it.

"Besides, she might be here for more than one reason," Graham said smirking. "I mean, she's only known the kid for one day, hardly seems enough to just up sticks and move here."

"Never underestimate what a mother will do for her son, mate," Killian said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Anyway, if you don't think that she's here just for Henry, what else is she here for?"

"I don't know – but I do know that she and I got on very well yesterday, even though she was on the other side of the bars," Graham said with a cheeky grin. Killian saw a little red flag go up. Did Graham fancy Emma? This was new, usually it was Killian that enjoyed a bit of harmless flirting; Graham had always been otherwise occupied with Regina to show an interest in anyone else. He didn't know why, but he hated the fact that Emma had seemed to turn Graham's head.

"I'm just gonna get my phone, I think I left it in my car this morning," Killian said, feeling the sudden urge to get away from Graham. He had no idea why, Graham was the one person he could always get along with, and he hated feeling this way towards his friend. Killian stepped outside the diner to see Henry walking up to him.

"Good morning, Henry," he said with a smile, the boy instantly brightening his mood.

"Hey, Killian," Henry said with a beaming smile.

"You seem awfully chipper today, what's gotten into you?" Killian asked, ruffling Henry's hair.

"Haven't you noticed? The clock's fixed, it started moving again last night. It means the curse is weakening. Emma coming here really did make a difference!"

Killian smiled at Henry, seeing how happy he was. "That's excellent, Henry."

"I knew bringing Emma here was a good idea, now I just have to get her to believe and the curse will be broken," Henry continued as he walked towards the door that Killian had pulled open for him.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck with that, lad."

Henry bounded into the diner and sat down in one of the booths. Killian shook his head in fondness and unlocked his car. He picked his phone up out of the glove compartment and gave it a quick check. Seeing that he had no new messages or missed calls, he tucked it away in his pocket and looked up just in time to see Emma enter the diner. Killian leaned against his car for a moment, contemplating whether he should go and talk to her when he went back in or go and sit back down with Graham. Wait a minute – why was he even asking himself that? Of course he should go and sit back down with Graham, just because Emma was in the diner didn't mean that he should automatically be near her, no matter how much the strange, beautiful and tenacious woman intrigued him.

He walked in to see Emma standing in front of Graham, and his stomach dropped when he recognised that Graham was flirting with her.

"That's good news for our tourist business – bad for our local signage," Graham joked. Killian winced his friend's poor attempt at flirting. He didn't exactly like the idea of Graham flirting with Emma for whatever reason, but his brother was drowning out there.

By the way Graham was floundering, Emma didn't appreciate his flirting either. "It's – it's a joke… because you ran over our sign…" he said.

"Look, the cocoa was a nice gesture," she said. _Cocoa, what cocoa?_ Killian thought. Graham wasn't that good at flirting, was he?

"And I am impressed that you guessed that I like cinnamon in my chocolate, 'cause most people don't, but I am not her to flirt. So, thank you, but no thank you," Emma finished as she put down a mug and slid it across the table towards Graham.

 _Oh, that cocoa._ Killian tried to cover his amused grin with his hand at Graham's failed attempt at flirting. He wasn't being spiteful just because it was Emma; to be fair he probably would have laughed at Graham in this situation if it was anyone. He really did look truly lost, and shot Killian a helpless look over Emma's shoulder. Killian shrugged as if to say "you're on your own here, mate".

"I didn't send it," Graham replied to Emma. _I knew you weren't that good at flirting,_ Killian thought, a small smirk threatening to show on his face. He was quite relieved that Graham hadn't sent her the cocoa, but even more so at Emma's blunt dismissal of his flirting. He really needed to figure out what it was about this woman that had him questioning himself so much.

Henry stood up from the next booth over. "I did, I like cinnamon, too," he said as Killian slid past Emma back to his spot opposite Graham.

"Don't you have school?" Emma asked Henry.

"Duh, I'm ten," he responded, causing Killian to laugh. "Walk me," Henry said to Emma.

"Okay, kid, let's go," Emma agreed, sighing.

Henry gave Killian what he thought was a covert wink and thumbs up as he walked past him and Killian returned the gesture equally as subtle. Emma frowned at him suspiciously and Killian simply raised his eyebrows in response. Emma put a hand on Henry's back and guided him out of the diner, still looking at Killian with an expression that said "you're gonna tell me everything later".

"What was that all about?" Graham asked finishing off his coffee.

"Never mind that, what the bloody hell was 'bad for our local signage' all about?" Killian asked him, trying his best not to crack up with laughter, failing miserably.

"Shut up, Jones," Graham mumbled into his coffee, Killian's laughter still echoing throughout the diner.

* * *

"So, what's the deal with you and your mom?" Emma asked Henry as they walked side by side towards the school.

"It's not about us, it's about the curse. We have to break it," Henry replied. _Oh, boy._ "Luckily, I have a plan. Step one: identification. I call it, 'Operation Cobra'."

"Cobra?" Emma repeated, confused. "That has nothing to do with fairy tales."

"Exactly, it's a code name. It'll throw the Evil Queen off the trail," Henry said, as though it should be obvious to Emma.

"So, everyone here is a fairy tale character, they just don't know it," Emma said, deciding to roll with Henry's fantasy, pulling an apple out of her pocket.

"That's the cure. Time's been frozen… until you got here. Hey!" he shouted suddenly, causing Emma to freeze with her apple raised mid-air. "Where'd you get that?" he asked.

"Your mom," Emma replied, not sure where he was going with this.

"Don't eat that!" he warned her, and he snatched the apple away from her and threw it over his shoulder. _What's the big deal? It's just an… oh, right, poisoned apple and all that…_

"Okay… Um, uh, alright. What about their pasts?" Emma asked, keeping up with Henry's curse talk as best as she could.

"They don't know. It's a haze to them. Ask anyone anything and you'll see."

"So… for decades, people have been wandering around, in a haze, not aging, with screwed up memories, stuck in a cursed town that kept them oblivious." _Yeah, that doesn't sound far-fetched at all._

"I knew you'd get it!" Henry said smiling at her, and it reminded her of why she was going along with this whole curse thing: for Henry's sake. "That's why we need you," he continued. "You're the only one who can stop her curse."

"Because I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming?"

"Yes! And right now, we have the advantage. My mom doesn't know that," he said as he reached into his backpack and took out some bits of paper. "I took out the end, the part with you in it. See? Your mom is Snow White!"

Emma stared at the illustration of a baby wrapped in a blanket with the name 'Emma' embroidered on it. She would admit, it reminded her a lot of her own baby blanket. But that didn't mean that she was this baby in the picture.

"Kid…" she began.

"I know the hero never believes at first. If they did, it wouldn't be a very good story. But me and Killian are working on that," Henry said. _So that's what all the sneaky looks were about._ "If you need proof, take them, read them, but whatever you do, don't let her see these pages. They're dangerous. If she finds out who you are… then it would be bad." Henry sounded so serious, it would have been comical in other circumstances. Emma had been so wrapped up in talking to Henry about the curse that she was surprised when she saw that they were already at the school. Her shoulders sagged slightly; she had really enjoyed talking to Henry, even if it was just about the curse; it was a shame that they didn't have longer.

"I gotta go," Henry said. "But I'll find you later and we can get started. I knew you'd believe me!" Henry shouted back at her as he continued on towards the school.

"I never said I did," Emma corrected him, but her heart wasn't really in it at the promise of Henry wanting to see her later.

"Why else would you be here?" he retorted. He turned around and ran off towards the school, leaving a lingering smile on Emma's face.

"It's good to see his smile back," came a soft voice from beside Emma; she didn't even notice Mary Margaret walking towards her.

"I didn't do anything," Emma insisted.

"You stayed," she said simply. "So, does the Mayor know you're still here?"

"Oh, she knows," Emma replied, her mind flashing back to her previous meeting with Regina this morning. "What is her deal? She's not a great people person, how did she get elected?"

"She's been Mayor as long as I can remember," Mary Margaret said wistfully. _Well, that's specific,_ Emma thought. "No one's ever been brave enough to run against her. She inspires quite a bit of… well, fear. I'm afraid I only made it worse by giving Henry that book, now he thinks she's the Evil Queen," she said, mentally kicking herself.

"Who does he think you are?" Emma asked curiously.

"It's silly…" Mary Margaret scoffed.

Emma laughed. "I just got five minutes of silly, lay it on me."

"Snow White," Mary Margaret laughed, shaking her head slightly. Emma froze. There was no way she believed in this curse, but if it were true then her mother would be standing right in front of her. Her mother, the woman she had been searching for her entire life. Emma's stomach dropped as she realised what she was doing; she was hoping. Which was completely insane because there was no point – this curse wasn't real!

"Who does he think you are?" she asked, pulling Emma away from her thoughts.

"I'm not in the book," Emma lied. "Can I ask you a favour? Regina mentioned the kid's in therapy; do you know where I can find the doctor?" Emma asked, focusing her attention back on helping Henry and putting all childish fantasies of her parents being fairy tale characters out of her mind.

* * *

 **Don't forget to review or pm me if you have any questions!**


	4. Chapter 3: The C Word

**Hey guys! Not** **a long AN this chapter, remember to review or pm me if you have any questions. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 3: The C Word

Emma knocked on the door of Dr. Archie Hopper's office and opened it to see a cosy room with large, comfy sofas. Archie was sitting in a chair reading a newspaper and looked up at her arrival.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Emma Swan," he said as he stood up to meet her. "I was just, uh, reading about you." Emma glanced at the paper he was holding with the front page a story of her crashing into the sign. _Great, just what everyone wants to hear when they're supposed to be making an impression as a responsible adult._ "Let me guess, you're here for help with a little post-traumatic stress?" he chuckled, setting his paper down. "That diagnosis was free, by the way."

Emma laughed to be polite. "No, I'm here about Henry."

"I'm sorry," he said uncomfortably. "I – I really shouldn't…"

"I know, I'm sorry," Emma said, feeling bad for putting the guy in such an awkward position. "I just… just tell me something. This fairy tale obsession, what is causing it? I mean he thinks everyone is a character in his book. That's… crazy," Emma said for lack of a better word.

"I – I hope you don't talk that way in front of him," Archie said hesitantly. "The word 'crazy' is, um, quite damaging."

Emma instantly felt guilty for even thinking it.

"These stories – they're his language," the doctor explained. "He has no idea how to express complex emotions so he's translating them as best he can, this is how he communicates. He's using the book to help deal with his problems."

 _The poor kid shouldn't even have any problems._ "But he got the book a month ago. Has he been seeing you longer than that?" Emma asked.

"Um – yes, he has," Archie admitted.

"So, it's Regina, isn't it?" Emma asked, becoming more furious with the woman the more she learned about Henry.

"Uh – his mother is a very complicated woman," he said clumsily. _Yeah, I'll bet she is._ "Over the years her attempts to try and bring Henry closer have only backfired." Archie moved away to a shelf and pulled out a file. "Why don't you take a look at the file, um, see what I mean."

"Why are you doing this?" Emma asked, becoming suspicious at the sudden change of heart of the shrink.

"Well, he talks about you a lot. You're... very important to him," he replied. Emma's heart swelled.

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

"Just, uh, see that I get it back, okay?" he said as he opened the door for Emma. She smiled at him and turned to leave. "Miss Swan," he said, stopping Emma in her tracks. "Just for the sake of the boy, be careful how you handle his… belief system. To destroy his imagination would be… would be devastating."

Emma gave a quick nod to him before she departed his office, leaving Dr. Hopper alone. He sat down at his desk and picked up his phone to make a call.

"You were right," he said when Regina answered the phone. "She was just here."

"Did she take the file?" the Mayor asked.

"Yes. H-how did you know she was gonna come here?" Archie questioned.

"Because I'm the one who gave her the idea," Regina said, her malicious smile audible in her voice before she put the phone down.

Archie ran a hand over his face and patted the top of Pongo's head. Whatever he had gotten himself into, his conscience was telling him that it was a big mistake.

* * *

Killian let out a sigh and finally put his pen down. For a small town where hardly any crime takes place, they really did have a lot of paperwork. He leaned back in his chair and placed his feet up on his desk, crossing one over the other. There was no denying it; Killian Jones was bored. There was only one thing for it. He reached for a scrap bit of paper, crumpled it up into a tight ball, and lobbed it off the top of Graham's head. The sheriff looked up at his deputy, who just grinned over at him innocently.

"Grow up, Jones," he muttered, rolling his eyes at him and returning to his hunched position over his desk.

"Oh, c'mon mate, we both know that you've finished your paperwork for the rest of the week, unless someone gets brutally murdered which is highly unlikely in this town," Killian said.

"You don't know that, we might have a brutal murder," Graham said as a pathetic excuse.

"Well, I know that if we don't liven the atmosphere up in here a bit we'll definitely have one, because I am about to snap with how bored I am," Killian whined dramatically.

"Alright, fine," Graham said, putting his pen down and folding his hands in front of him on his desk. "What do you wanna do?"

"How about we talk about what's gotten you in such a pissed mood?" Killian challenged, raising an eyebrow at his friend. "And don't try to pretend you're not – we live together, Humbert, I can read you like an open book," cutting Graham's protests off.

Graham seemed to contemplate whether he should say what he was about to. "Look," he said after a moment. "There's something I need to tell you – "

"Is it about you and Regina? Because that ship sailed a long time ago. That is now just a distant speck on the horizon," Killian interrupted.

Graham's mouth opened and close like a goldfish while he was trying to figure out what to say, which amused Killian to no end. "How did you know about that?" he decided on, eventually.

"Like I said – open book, mate," Killian replied with a wink. He and Graham looked at each other and they both started laughing. A weight seemed to have been lifted off Graham's shoulders now that he knew that his best friend knew about him and Regina.

"Alright, well, it's been going on for a while now…" he began.

"But?" Killian prompted.

"But I don't feel anything, Kil. And I don't just mean because we're not really a serious thing, I mean I feel nothing at all. Is that normal?"

"Woah, what's brought all this heavy psycho-analysis on?" Killian laughed uneasily. Graham was usually so transparent, so black and white. He knew what he wanted in life and always had done, so what was causing all of this doubt? _The same thing that's causing all of yours,_ a small voice said in the back of Killian's mind that he chose to ignore as best he could.

"You know what, you're probably right," Graham laughed unsurely. "I'm probably just making something out of nothing."

"Graham, mate, if you're really not that bothered about her, then why are you still with her at all? I mean, it's no secret that she's hardly the easiest person to get along with – you could have definitely picked someone better to fool around with," Killian said, ignoring Graham's pointed look. "But as much of a bitch as she is, it isn't fair on her either if you feel bugger all about her."

Graham looked at his desk and thought about what Killian had said. Maybe… no, what was he thinking. He had been sleeping with Regina for as long as he could remember, things with Regina were safe, normal. Both men were brought out of their thoughts by the phone ringing.

"Well, there's that brutal murder we were so desperately hoping for," Killian said with a smile towards the sheriff. "Tell you what, you get the call, I'll get some lunch from Granny's, grilled cheese okay for you?" Killian asked, standing up and shrugging his black leather jacket on. He grabbed his wallet and he keys off his desk and headed towards the door, shouting back at Graham, "I might be a bit late back since it's rush hour."

Graham waved him off and then picked up the phone that was still ringing. "Sheriff's station," he answered. "Hello, Dr. Hopper, what can I do for you today?"

* * *

Emma answered her door to see Sheriff Graham standing on the other side. "Hey there," she answered. "If you're concerned about the 'Do Not Disturb' signs, don't worry; I've left them alone," she said, continuing his earlier joke. However, it failed to make him smile, which began to worry Emma.

"Actually, I'm here about Dr. Archibald Hopper," Graham said. _Alarm bells! Red flag! Sirens!_ "He mentioned that you got into a bit of a row with him earlier?"

"No," Emma said, narrowing her eyes at the recognition of her being framed.

"I'm shocked, too, given your shy, delicate sensibilities," Graham said sarcastically, causing Emma to narrow her eyes. "He says you demanded to see Henry's files and when he refused you came back and stole them."

"He gave them to me!" Emma said defensively.

"Alas, he's telling a different tale. May I check your room, or must I get a search warrant?" Graham asked.

Emma sighed, knowing it was futile to put up a fight. She opened her door and gestured animatedly to all of the notes lying on her bed. "This what you're looking for?" she asked facetiously.

"Well, you're very accommodating," Graham complimented picking up a sheet of paper. "But, I'm afraid, Miss Swan, you're under arrest. Again." He reached for her hands as he began to cuff her.

"You know I'm being set up, don't you?" Emma said to him.

"And, whom, may I ask is setting you up?" Graham replied.

 _You know exactly who, you just don't want to say,_ the both thought.

* * *

"You know the shrink is lying, right?" Emma said, while blinking dots away from her vision after having her mug shot taken.

"To the right, please," Graham instructed. "Why would he lie?"

"The Mayor put him up to this, she's gotta have something on him. He's terrified of her, like everyone else in this town," she said exasperatedly. Where was Killian in all of this? Surely he would know that Emma was telling truth, wouldn't he? It seemed he knew better than most people of what Regina was capable of. She didn't know what she would do if he didn't believe her… because then she wouldn't get out this situation, of course. That was the only reason. Though she had to admit, it would sting a bit if he didn't believe her.

"To the left. Regina may be a touch intimidating but I don't think she'd go as far as a frame-job," Graham said, though Emma's superpower flared slightly, as though Graham had said that to reassure himself more than anything else.

"How far would she go? What does she have her hands in?" Emma pushed him.

"Well, she'd the Mayor, she has her hands in everything," he said evasively.

"Including the police force?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow. Graham gave her a pointed look but was interrupted before he could say anything.

"Well, that took longer than expected…" Killian said, trailing off when he came round the corner and saw Emma. "What the bloody hell's going on here?" he asked Graham.

"Dr. Hopper called, said that Miss Swan had stolen Henry's file."

"Did you?" he asked Emma.

"Of course not, he gave them to me, I was framed!" Emma snapped at him.

"Hm, I wonder who by," Killian said sarcastically, shooting a look at Graham. Emma felt as though a weight had been lifted off her chest; Killian believed her!

"Oh, not you, too, Killian," Graham said.

"We both know that she is capable of doing something like this, Graham, whether you want to admit it or not," Killian replied, reaching for the key off the table. He took Emma's hands in his as he unlocked her cuffs, and looked up into her eyes for a split second before he tore his gaze away to put the cuffs in a draw.

Emma decided not to dwell on how he had just taken her word and believed her without hesitation, or how tenderly he held her hands in his when he was unlocking her cuffs, or how crystal clear his blue eyes were... _Hold on a minute there, Swan, you need to stop thinking like that right now,_ Emma screamed at herself. Killian certainly was striking but so was Graham for that matter, so why was she so focused on Killian? Thankfully, Henry burst into the station with Mary Margaret behind him before she could answer that question.

"Hey!" Henry said, as he came charging round the corner.

"Henry! Henry, what are you doing here?" Graham asked.

"His mother told him what happened," Mary Margaret answered.

"Of course she did," Killian said sardonically, looking at Graham as if to prove a point.

"Henry, I don't know what she said –," Emma began.

"You're a genius!" Henry stated brightly.

"What?" Emma asked. Of all the things she had been expecting Henry to say, that was not one of them.

"I know what you were up to," Henry said. "You were gathering intel, for Operation Cobra," he elaborated. "And Killian, you were helping by making the Evil Queen think that she still had the upper hand by arresting Emma," Henry addressed him, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit lost," Graham said, confused, causing Killian to chuckle slightly.

"It's need to know, Sheriff, and all you need to know is that Miss Blanchard's gonna bail her out."

"You are?" Emma and Killian said together, causing them to look at one another. "Why?" Emma asked.

"I – uh – trust you," she said, rushing her words out. Emma was touched at the woman's faithfulness, considering she had only known her for just over a day.

"Well, since I'm already uncuffed I guess I'll be on my way, I have something to do," Emma said with a wicked glint in her eye that was missed by everyone except Killian, who smirked as he wondered what on Earth she was going to do. Whatever it was, he was sure it wasn't going to sit well with Regina, which was probably why he silently encouraged her to do it all the more.

* * *

Regina turned her head to the strange buzzing sound that was coming from outside her window and she was surprised her eyes didn't fall out of her skull with how wide they grew at the sight she was greeted with. She stormed out of her office and into her garden, absolutely furious.

"What the hell are you doing?" she raged at Emma, who was holding a chainsaw that had just sliced through a branch of her beloved apple tree.

"Picking apples," she said nonchalantly.

"You're out of your mind!" Regina said dangerously.

"No, you are if you think a shoddy frame job's enough to scare me off," Emma retorted, squaring up to Regina. "If you come after me one more time, I'm coming back for the rest of this tree. Because, sister, you have no idea what I'm capable of," she threatened, echoing Regina's earlier words before she stalked off leaving a fuming Regina behind her.

"Your move."

* * *

Killian had just finished his shift and was heading home when he got a call from Graham saying that they'd had an emergency call from the Mayor and that he needed him to come back. Though Killian was pretty sure Graham could handle whatever the Mayor was overreacting about on his own, he had the feeling that he didn't exactly want to be around her on his own, what with his earlier confession. And he had a feeling that whatever Regina had phoned in about just happened to walk around the corner, wearing a white vest and a smug smirk on her face that was no doubt aided by the chainsaw she was carrying on her shoulder.

"Do I even want to ask?" Killian laughed as she stopped in front of him.

"Nope," Emma replied, popping the 'p'.

"Well, fair warning that your good mood may not last; Regina's just called the sheriff's station," Killian told her.

"Don't care, she can go to hell," Emma said, her smirk not budging off her face.

"Remember when you said Regina was psychotic?" Killian asked her. "I'm really starting to understand the phrase 'takes one to know one'," he joked, taking in just how bizarre the sight of that chainsaw was.

"Watch it, Jones. Let's not forget who's holding the chainsaw here," Emma said in mock annoyance. They both started laughing.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Swan," Killian said, his tone turning serious as he stood closer to her. "I probably don't need to remind you what Regina is capable of. Just… be careful, love, she's a lot more dangerous than she lets on," he said, tucking a stray bit of hair behind her ear as his eyes bore into hers.

Emma's heart lifted at the concern in his words, a small smile threatening to tug at the corners of her lips. But she couldn't give into those kind of feelings, she was too damaged. It was different when it was just a bit of casual flirting, but she would have to be careful not to let her walls down while she was around Killian. _Remember, you're here for Henry. You're already breaking your 'don't get attached' rule for him, don't make it a double whammy, Emma._ She put her hand on his chest and gently pushed him back, laughing lightly and her smile remaining intact to make it seem like she wasn't internally panicking. "Thanks, but _I_ probably don't need to remind _you_ that I can handle myself."

Emma readjusted the chainsaw on her shoulder and stepped around the deputy.

"What if I told you that you didn't have to take her on alone?" Killian said as she walked away from him.

Emma turned back to look at him and smiled sadly. "Then I would tell you that I've only ever done anything alone; I'm used to it."

And before Killian could say anything else, Emma quickened her pace and walked away from him as fast as she could without making it look like she was running away.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Emma was coming out of the diner when she had finished her lasagne after she had given Granny back her chainsaw (who knew why that woman had a chainsaw). Killian was right, her good mood had been ruined, but not by Regina. It was herself. Dammit, she really liked Killian; he seemed like a decent guy and could be a good friend. She couldn't let whatever feelings she thought she had get in the way of that, just because he was the first guy, hell, the first _person_ ,since Neal to treat her that way. She just wasn't used to having people be concerned about her, that's all. Emma knew that she had to tone her defensive streak down a bit, but it was freaking hard after years of closing herself off. She walked over to her car, thoughts of what she should do about Killian swimming in her head, only to find that it had a boot placed on it. _Brilliant, just great._ Her phone started ringing, and she pulled it out angrily, not in the mood to talk to whoever was on the other end, and she had a good idea of exactly who it was.

"What?" she answered.

"Miss Swan," came Regina's snarky voice on the end of the line. "I'd be happy to continue demonstrating my power, but in my writing I'm guessing your resolve to stay is only growing?"

"You have no idea," Emma said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes as she stared at her car.

"Well, then. I think it's time we made peace. Why don't you drive over to my office?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice, causing Emma to slam her car door in annoyance. "Or walk – whatever suits you," Regina added, appearing to have heard it. Suddenly, the urge became too strong; Emma really did roll her eyes.

* * *

Emma had her knees tucked up to her chest with her feet on the sofa, just to piss Regina off.

"I'd like to start by apologising, Miss Swan," Regina said, with a small smile.

"What?" Emma said, not even bothering to hide her disbelief.

"I just have to accept the reality that you want to be here," Regina said, shrugging slightly.

"That's right, I do."

"And that you're here to take my son from me," Regina said from out of nowhere.

"Okay, let's be clear: I have no intention of taking him from anyone," Emma said, frowning at her.

"Well then, what are you doing here?" Regina asked. _Good question._

"I know I'm not a mother – that's pretty self-evident – but I did have him, and I can't help it – he got in my head and I want to make sure he's okay. The more you try to push me out, the more I wanna be here, especially after seeing how…" _Depressed? Lonely? Wanting to get away from his psycho adoptive mother?_ "… troubled he is," Emma finished, deciding that if she was gonna make peace with the woman, bringing up any of that would not help matters.

"You think he's troubled?" Regina said curiously. _Great, just gonna have to keep rolling with this one now, Emma._

"Well, he's in therapy," Emma began. "And I only got through a couple pages of his shrink's notes before you had me arrested. But putting all that aside – he thinks everyone in this town is a fairy tale character."

"And you don't?"

"How can I? The poor kid can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality and it's only getting worse. It's crazy," she said, but before she could reprimand herself for using the c-word Henry's voice came from the doorway behind her.

"You think I'm crazy?" he asked in a hurt voice.

Emma's stomach sunk when she realised that he had heard. "Henry…" she tried to say, but he ran off before she got a chance. Her hurt for Henry and anger towards herself quickly turned into anger towards Regina, realising that she had been set up. "How long was he there?" she asked, still facing the door that Henry had run out of, not trusting herself to look at Regina.

"Long enough," she responded.

"You knew he would be here," Emma stated, deciding to risk it and turned to face Regina, the twisted and malicious smile she was wearing testing all of Emma's self-control not to wipe it off her face.

"Did I know that my son comes to my office every Thursday at precisely five P.M. so I can take him for dinner before his therapy session? Of course I did. I'm his _mother_ ," she said, her words like a punch in the gut for Emma. "Your move," she repeated, with a sick smirk. That did it for Emma.

"You have no soul. How in the hell did you get like this?" But Emma didn't stick around to hear the answer; she needed to find Henry.

* * *

Killian was finally heading home. After being called to Regina's office and seeing that one of the branches of her apple tree had been sawn clean off, it had been a somewhat eventful encounter, mainly because he was having a hard time stifling his laughter even as Regina threatened his job. Emma Swan, she was a bloody hard lass to figure out. Especially when she had shut him out earlier, been so adamant that she worked alone, yet her eyes had betrayed her true feelings. She hated being alone, and Killian could see that. He didn't know what had happened to her, but he knew that he had to figure her out one way or another; the bloody woman was driving him round the bend and he'd known her for less than two days! He stopped in his tracks when she saw Henry sitting in his castle with his book unopened in his lap. Something wasn't right.

"You alright, lad?" Killian asked him when he got a bit closer. Henry looked up and Killian saw that he had been crying, instantly feeling the need to comfort the boy. "Henry, what's wrong?" he asked, placing both his hands on Henry's shoulders and sinking down to his eye level so he was forced to look at him.

"It's my mom," Henry sniffed.

"Regina?" Killian said, his blood boiling.

"No, Emma," Henry said. Killian felt his heart sink. "She doesn't believe in me, she thinks I'm crazy."

Disappointment and a trace of anger flared up inside Killian briefly before he realised that there must be a better explanation that this. If he knew one thing, it was the last thing Emma would want to do would be to hurt Henry. "Are you sure about that, Henry?"

He nodded. "I heard her saying it to the Evil Queen when I went round to her office."

Ah, there it was. So it was Regina – Killian had no doubt that she had planned this. He shoved his rage to one side, however, deciding he would deal with it later. Right now, Henry needed him.

"Henry, listen to me. How much of their conversation did you hear?"

"Just that Emma was saying how I think everyone's a fairy tale character and that it was crazy," he said.

"Did you hear anything else?" Killian asked him with a raised eyebrow. Henry shook his head as he looked at the ground, already seeing where Killian was going with this. "Well, there you go, then. There could be more to this than meets the eye, Henry. She was talking to the Evil Queen, after all. Tell you what, I'll take you to Granny's for some ice cream and we can discuss all the negative consequences of eavesdropping, shall we?" Killian said, lifting Henry down from the castle and putting an arm around his shoulders.

"I'd rather just have the ice cream, thanks," Henry said with a smirk, causing Killian to chuckle. _Looks like I'm not going home yet, after all._

* * *

Emma's feet pounded the pavement, completely driven by her fury towards Regina and her need to find Henry. She barely noticed where she was going until she collided with a mass of black leather.

"Easy there, love," Killian said, grabbing hold of her arms to steady her and giving her a pointed look.

"Sorry," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I was just – "

"Looking for Henry, yes, I know," Killian finished for her. "I ran into him earlier, just dropped him off at his session."

 _Oh God, he's gonna hate me for hurting Henry. He might hate me even more than I hate myself right now!_

"Killian, listen, whatever Henry said – "

"I know it's not your fault, Swan," he reassured her.

"Oh," she said, taken aback. "Well, um, good. 'Cause you know I'd never do anything to hurt Henry, right?"

"Of course I do, it's the entire reason you're here," Killian said with an effortless smile. _Well, with a smile like that maybe it's not the only reason I'm here…_

"Thank you," Emma said. "It's good to know that at least you believe me, maybe you can help bring Henry round, the kid probably hates my guts at the minute," she said hopelessly.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," he said, smirking slightly at her, causing Emma to raise an eyebrow in question. "I may have already spoke in favour of you before I dropped him off," he said with a wink. "I think he knows you didn't really mean what you said, but he's a bloody stubborn lad and wouldn't want to admit to me."

Emma exhaled a small sigh of relief, smiling at Killian to convey her gratitude. He smiled back at her, causing creases to appear around his luminous blue eyes…

"Well, I'd better get to Archie's and speak to Henry before his session finishes," Emma said, tearing her thoughts away from his goddam perfect features. What, perfect features? What on Earth was going on with her?

"Of course," Killian said, one corner of his mouth twisting upward in a sideways grin. "I'll see you later, Swan," he said before he walked away from her.

"Not if I see you first, Jones," Emma said to herself as she watched him walk down the street. Killian Jones was not like other guys, but she had no idea why. And Emma didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

* * *

Emma walked into Archie's office without even knocking, holding the story book pages in her hand. Archie jumped straight up and walked towards her.

"Miss Swan. Look I can explain. The Mayor forced me – "

"I know, don't worry about it, I get it," Emma interrupted, her main focus on Henry. "Henry, I'm sorry."

"I don't wanna talk to you," he said stubbornly. _Just like Killian said._

"Miss Swan, if she knew you were here…" Archie began nervously.

"To hell with her," Emma said determinedly, sitting down in front of Henry. "Henry, there is one simple reason I stayed here – you. I wanted to get to know you."

"You think I'm crazy!" he retorted.

"No, I think the _curse_ is crazy. And it is," Emma sighed. Oh boy, she was just gonna have to come out and say it. "But that doesn't mean that it's not true! It is a lot to ask anyone to believe in, but there are a lot of crazy things in this world. So, what do I know? Maybe it is true."

"But you told my mom – "

"What she needed to hear," Emma interrupted quickly. "What I do know is that if the curse is real, the only way to break it is by tricking the Evil Queen into thinking that we are non-believers. 'Cause that way, she's not on to us. Isn't that what Operation Cobra's all about? Throwing her off the trail?" Emma finished, watching Henry's expression change with every word.

"Brilliant!" he exclaimed, making Emma's heart burst.

"I read the pages, and Henry, you're right – they are dangerous. There is only one way to make sure she never sees them," Emma said, and she took the pages and threw them in the fire. "Now we have the advantage," she said, smiling at him.

"I knew you were here to help me!" Henry said, and he jumped up and wrapped his arms around Emma's middle. She was shocked at his response so it took her a moment to respond to his hug, but once she did it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

"That's right, kid, I am," Emma said, and that's when she knew, even if she wouldn't admit it to herself for months to come, that she would never leave Henry again. "And nothing, not even a curse, is gonna stop that," she promised his before they hugged again.

* * *

 **Don't forget to review or pm with questions!**


	5. Chapter 4: First Date

**Hey guys! A quick notice to say that I probably won't post every week over the next few weeks because I have my GCSEs starting on Monday (I know, I'm very scared, wish me luck!). Also, a quick shoutout to my first two reviews from a couple of guests, it means a lot. Keep reviewing and pm me with any questions you might have and I'll try my best to answer without spoilers!**

* * *

Chapter 4: First Date

 _Somewhere in an unknown realm…_

The two girls leaned panting against the wall after they had managed to tear around the corner. Not three seconds later, the fortress from which they had just escaped exploded, showering the street beside them with thousands of fragments of rock and dust. They ducked as the explosion rang out, slapping their hands over their heads to protect their ears. In the brief moments of silence that followed, the two girls looked at each other and promptly burst out laughing. Wiping tears away from her eyes, the darker haired of the pair slouched down to the ground, holding her stomach which was hurting with her laughter.

"Well, that went better than expected," she said, brushing the dust off her as her companion sat down beside her.

"I dread to think what it would have been like if it had gone as you had expected. Why do your plans always involve us having a near-death experience?" the other girl responded.

"You're alive, aren't you?" the first girl said with a frown, to which her friend could only roll her eyes. "Anyway, we got we what came here for. Let's have a look at it, then," she said, holding her hand out expectantly.

"I thought you grabbed it," the lighter haired girl said, her stomach dropping. Her friend's blue eyes widened. _Oh, bloody hell, please don't say…_

"Yeah, you're right, I did," the blue-eyed teen admitted, dropping her false pretence and reaching into her pocket.

"Dammit, Jack, don't do that to me," the second girl exclaimed, smacking the other lightly on the arm. Jack started laughing.

"Oh, c'mon, you're so easy to wind up, Liza."

Liza rolled her eyes at her dark haired friend. She really was mad at times; times like when she decided that being captured and taken prisoner would be the perfect opportunity to get into the compound. Which, to be fair, had actually worked, but still…

Jack pulled out a dirty, old scrap of parchment and unfolded it gingerly. Liza waited with apprehension, barely breathing despite how much oxygen she needed from legging it away from the explosion (also Jack's idea). Once it was completely unfolded, both girls stared at the markings on the map that was in Jack's hand, their eyes drawn to the pulsing light that was coming from one corner of it.

"Where is it?" Liza asked, not being able to read maps quite as well as Jack could despite all the years she'd been trying to teach her.

The corner of Jack's mouth twitched upwards in a one-sided smirk, and that's when Liza knew that she wasn't going to like whatever plan Jack was cooking up; that smirk always meant trouble with her. Jack glanced at Liza from under her dark lashes as their eyes met across the grubby map.

"It's in the Enchanted Forest."

* * *

This was officially crazy; what kind of town had no vacancies? She'd been looking for a place to stay ever since she'd been chucked out of Granny's since the Mayor conveniently reminded them of their 'no felons' policy. But it seemed that she would just have to stay in her car for the time being. She turned her head when she heard a knock at her window.

"Hey. You okay?" came the soft voice of Mary Margaret. Emma really liked Mary Margaret; she was a nice, genuine person who cared a lot for Henry.

Emma turned her flashlight off. "Oh, in the world of tight spots I've been in, crashing in my car doesn't even rank in the top ten," she reassured the school teacher.

"You're sleeping here?" Mary Margaret asked, shocked.

"Til I find a place."

"You decided to stay. For Henry," she stated with a smile. Though the words still jarred Emma slightly, she was slowly starting to accept the fact that the kid was having an impact on her.

"Yeah, I guess," she admitted. "This town doesn't seem to have any vacancies. None, actually. Is that normal?" Emma asked, her earlier question returning to her.

"Must be the curse," Mary Margaret joked, causing Emma to chuckle.

"Why are you out so late?" she asked, noticing how the school teacher was wearing a cute dress and cardigan combo.

"Well, I'm a teacher, not a nun. I had a date," she said, feeling slightly resigned.

"From the looks of things, it went well," Emma said sarcastically.

"As well as they ever do."

"Tell me he at least paid."

Mary Margaret hummed and shook her head, pulling a face, telling Emma all she needed to know. "Ew," she muttered, feeling sympathetic for the woman.

"Well, guess if true love was easy we'd all have it," she said acceptingly. She seemed to be one of those people who could always make the best out of a bad situation. If she was honest with herself, Emma could do with a few of those people in her life. "You know, if things get cramped I have a spare room," she offered kindly.

 _Uh – oh._ "Thanks, I'm not really the roommate type," she declined politely. Emma had already been kicking herself for letting Killian sneak past her walls now and then, she couldn't afford to let anyone else in, even if she did need someone like Mary Margaret. "It's just not my thing. I do better on my own," she finished, meaning for it to appear nonchalant, but instead it sounded sad even to her own ears.

Deciding not to press her too much, Mary Margaret left it at that. "Well, goodnight. Good luck with Henry."

"Yeah," Emma said, smiling at her as she walked away. She turned back round to her car, a part of her wishing that she'd taken her up on her offer.

* * *

Emma pulled up to Henry's playground beside the beach and parked the bug there. She'd promised him she'd meet him there after he finished school so that they could discuss more about Operation Cobra. As much as Emma loved talking to Henry and being a part of something he was so passionate about, she really wished he'd talk more about himself once in a while. She was here to get to know him and make sure he was okay after all, despite Henry's hopes that she was here to break the curse. Emma hoped Henry realised that she was really here for a much better reason than that; she was here for _him_. He needed to understand that she was here because she wanted to be.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a familiar figure of a dark haired man in his signature black leather jacket. Emma decided she had some time to kill and thought she might as well talk to the deputy while she was waiting. Because that's what friends do. And that's what they were. _Friends._ Nothing more than that.

"So, did Henry drag you here for Operation Cobra, too?" she asked once she had reached him.

He turned around, her voice seeming to catch him off-guard but nevertheless producing an effortless smile when he saw her.

"No, I thought I'd just take a walk since it's my day off," Killian replied.

Emma raised an eyebrow at him. "Huh," she said, mildly surprised. "Wouldn't peg you as the sentimental-walk-along-the-beach kinda guy."

"Who said anything about being sentimental? I just like the view," he said, gesturing to the ocean that was spread vastly in front of them. "Most people say they find the sea very calming, but they must have never seen a proper storm. I don't know, there's something about the sea that's just so captivating," he said, his blue eyes reflecting the colour of the water in front of them. "It has different moods, that rise and fall like the waves. Many a man has had his life taken by the sea's violent storms, but many have also profited from her occasional serenity when the sun glistens on top of the waves like today. The sea just… well, helps me think, I suppose," Killian concluded.

Emma's sarcastic remark that she was about to make died in the throat as soon as he started speaking. This was a side to Killian she hadn't seen; where all of his cocky mannerisms and sarcastic jibes were seemingly gone. He almost seemed reminiscent about something. If she was honest with herself, Emma sort of liked this more… open Killian.

"What did you need to think about?" she asked, referring to what he said about the water helping him think. Killian turned to face her and their eyes locked, and Emma had the feeling deep down that she knew exactly what he needed to think about.

"Just how I've always wanted a sail boat," Killian settled on. He laughed quietly at himself. "It's silly, really. All this talk about the sea, I probably wouldn't last two minutes as a sailor."

"Oh, I don't know, I think I could see you with a boat. You could get one of those white hats the captain wears. Or maybe one of those big, pirate ones with a feather on it," Emma joked, the image of him wearing one appearing behind her eyes and making her smile grow even larger.

"Well, I wouldn't know about having any hats, Swan," he laughed at her. "But I do like the sound of Captain Killian Jones. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" he asked her with a wink.

Emma rolled her eyes; it seemed as though the usual Killian was back, though she couldn't really be too disappointed. The deputy really was growing on her.

"Hey, guys!" Henry shouted from beside his castle, causing the pair to turn away from the ocean. "Come on up here!"

"Well, Swan, guess I am being roped into Operation Cobra after all," Killian said, raising his eyebrows. The two walked back up the small slope and went to sit either side of Henry as he pulled his book out.

"Alright, lad?" Killian said as he ruffled Henry's hair.

"Hey, Killian," Henry replied, beaming up at him. The sight warmed Emma's heart; she knew Henry idolised Killian, and that he looked up to him as a father figure. It was good of him really, considering he had no real connection to Henry other than babysitting him when he was younger, but he still looked after him as best as he could, and cared for him a hell of a lot. It made Emma realise that she owed Killian quite a lot; she had no doubt that Henry would have been a very different kid if Regina had brought him up with no input from anyone else.

"Okay kid, what's this big break through with Operation Cobra," Emma said, bumping shoulders with Henry.

"I found your father – Prince Charming," he said animatedly, not noticing how Emma flinched at the mention of the father that she never had. She and Killian shared a look over the top of Henry's head.

"Henry…"

"He's in the hospital, in a coma," he insisted. "See the scar? He has one, too," Henry said, pointing to the book.

"He's got a point," Killian agreed, he and Henry ganging up on Emma. _Traitor,_ Emma's eyes said, to which Killian just smirked at.

"So? Lots of people have scars," Emma replied to Henry.

"In the same place?" Henry said, talking to Emma as if the answer should be obvious. "Don't you see what this means? The curse is keeping them apart with the coma. Now they're stuck without each other. We have to tell Miss Blanchard we found her Prince Charming."

"Okay, kid. Telling someone their… soulmate is in a coma is probably not helpful," Emma told him. "Not having a happy ending is painful enough, but giving someone unrealistic hope is far worse," Emma said, not noticing the way Killian looked over at her with a sad expression on his face; she was too busy picturing dark eyes, messy brown hair and a flashy smile. She shook away the image of Neal as quickly as it had appeared, years of suppressing her feelings coming into play.

"But what if I'm right?" Henry said, grabbing Emma and Killian's attention once more. "We know who they are. Now they have to know."

"And how do you intend to make that happen?" Emma said, actually curious as to how far he had planned this out.

"By reminding him. We have to get her to read their story to John Doe. Then, maybe, he'll remember who he is."

Emma took a breath to tell Henry that it was a bad idea but Killian interrupted her before she got a chance.

"What a brilliant idea, lad," Killian said, smiling down at Henry. Emma looked at Killian who didn't seem to notice.

"I knew you'd get it," Henry smirked at him. He _soooo_ picked that up from Killian, he practically mirrored the guy's signature one-corner smile.

"Tell you what, you go wait by the bug and I'll text Mary Margaret to meet Emma and I and we'll tell her the plan," Killian said, lifting Henry down from his castle, completely oblivious to – or probably just ignoring – the wide eyes Emma was making behind Henry's back.

"Okay," Henry said, and he tucked his book in his backpack and ran off.

"Are you nuts, Killian? What the hell were you thinking?" Emma snapped once Henry was out of earshot.

"Relax, Swan. Would it kill you to trust someone once in a while?"

 _It almost did last time I trusted someone._

"I've got a plan. We'll do Henry's plan but we'll do it our way," Killian told her with a wink. It was astonishing how well he was able to put her mind at rest, it seemed like reassuring her was a regular occurrence with him. And though she was hardly the easiest person to comfort, he seemed to be doing an amazing job.

"Okay, I'll trust you on this one," Emma said. "Captain Killian Jones," she added as an afterthought, causing them both to grin childishly at each other as they walked back to the bug to meet Henry.

* * *

"You want me to read to a coma patient?" Mary Margaret asked, looking at Emma and Killian on the other side of her kitchen counter like they were crazy.

Emma winced; it did sound pretty nuts when you said it out loud. She looked at Killian for him to back her up on this one but he was taking a huge gulp of his cocoa, indicating that he was staying firmly out of this conversation. _Well, aren't you a big help,_ Emma thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Henry thinks it will help him remember who he was," Emma said in an attempt to persuade Mary Margaret.

"And who does he think he was?"

"Prince Charming," Killian piped up. _Oh, so you'll join in with the easy explanations._ "Though, I'm surprised that Henry doesn't think that's me with how devilishly charming I am," he said with a waggle of his eyebrows at Emma, causing Mary Margaret to giggle and Emma to scoff.

"In your dreams, Killian. Who does Henry think you are?" Emma asked.

"He doesn't know yet," he replied, about to take another drink of his cocoa before he paused with his mug in mid-air. "What exactly do you mean 'in my dreams', Swan?"

"Anyway," Emma said, shooting Killian a look. "Henry thinks that John Doe is Prince Charming."

"And if I'm Snow White, he thinks… me… and him…" Mary Margaret said.

"He has a very active imagination," Killian said as he went around the other side of the counter to put his finished mug of cocoa in the sink and rinse it out.

"Which is the point. I can't talk him out of his beliefs, so we need to show him. Play along, do what he says and then maybe, just maybe…" Emma continued.

"He'll see that fairy tales are just that," Mary Margaret finished, seeing the sense of their plan. "That there's no such thing as love at first sight or first kiss. He'll see reality."

"Something like that," Emma admitted.

"Well, sadly this plan is rather genius. We get him to the truth without hurting him."

"My point exactly," Killian said, reappearing at Emma's side. "Hear that, Swan? I'm a genius," he said, bumping her shoulder with his own as they both leaned on the counter.

"Just because you come up with a halfway decent plan once doesn't mean that you could split the atom, Jones," Emma said with a fake smile.

"Why, Swan, that was very near a joke from you," Killian said in mock surprise.

The two were completely oblivious as to how Mary Margaret was smirking into her mug at the pair's flirting. They really couldn't see how perfect they were for each other; they'd only known each other for a couple of days and were already acting as if they'd known each other their whole lives. It may have only been a bit of teasing, but Mary Margaret could sense that things would go much further between the two on the other side of her counter.

"Anyway, I told him we would all meet tomorrow for breakfast at Granny's. And you will give a full report," Emma continued.

Mary Margaret put her mug down. "Well, I suppose I'll have to get ready for my date. I guess I'll have to do all the talking."

"Thank you for doing this, Mary Margaret," Emma said, giving her one of her rare, genuine smiles.

"It's no trouble," she replied, opening her door for Emma and Killian. "I'll see you tomorrow." She closed her door, leaving Emma and Killian alone. They walked back down to the street to get back to their respective cars, pulling their leather jackets closer around themselves at the cold air tore at them.

"Do you think we've done the right thing?" Emma asked Killian suddenly.

He turned to frown at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, if we prove to him that the curse isn't real, what's gonna happen to him? This fantasy or whatever, it's his whole belief system. What if we take that away and he loses his hope?" Emma fretted.

"Swan, look at me," Killian stopped her, putting both of his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look up into his sea blue eyes. "Henry will not lose hope, not now that he has you. I know that you're worried that he won't want you here anymore once he realises that the curse isn't real, but he'll want you to stay all the more. Because then he'll know for sure that you're here for him, if you haven't convinced him of that already. I've known the lad his whole life, and he's a damn sight happier now than he has been in years, and that's not because he has this curse fantasy – it's because of you."

His words shook Emma to her core. He always knew just the right things to say to her; she hadn't even mentioned about being worried of losing Henry and yet he seemed to know that was the root of her concern. And despite all of her fears of losing Henry like she'd lost everyone else, Killian was able to once again put her mind at ease. She gave him a small smile which he returned. Emma then suddenly realised how close they were standing, and how his hands were gripping her shoulders tight enough that she could feel the warmth of them through her jacket. She began to feel a little claustrophobic, and Killian must have noticed because he took his hands off her shoulders and took a casual step back to give her some space.

Once Emma had reached her bug, Killian opened the door for her but before Emma could slip into the driver's seat, he closed it once more. "So, Mary Margaret's preparing for her date tonight. I don't suppose you would want to get some tips from her so you could put them into practise for say… this Saturday night for dinner at Granny's with me?" he asked, turning his charm on and flashing her a devilishly handsome smile that should have been impossible to say no to.

And, dammit if Emma didn't want to say yes. She really liked Killian, he was sweet, charming, funny, and unbelievably attractive, and he was amazing with Henry. But he was already managing to slip past her walls more and more, she wouldn't be able to actively let him in without them crumbling completely. She couldn't risk having her heart broken like that again.

"Killian, I like you, I do. And you're a great guy. But I just can't, not with everything going on with Henry, and I mean we've barely known each other five minutes. Besides, I don't really date, it's not my thing. I prefer being alone," Emma said with a smile despite how she was feeling.

"No one prefers being alone, love," he told her, looking straight into her eyes and making her feel as though he was unravelling every mystery about her. "But I get it, Swan," he said with an easy smile, his serious demeanour replaced by his usual easy-going nature. He opened her door for her again, and actually allowed her to get inside this time. Killian crouched down beside Emma's rolled down window and placed his elbows on the frame of her car.

"But my offer still stands. Dating might not be your thing now, but a new town means a new life – who knows; I might change your mind," he said with a wink, straightening up to head towards his own car. "I just hope I change your mind soon, or you'll keep me waiting a long time, Swan," he shouted back at her before he slipped into his own car and drove away.

Emma leaned back in her car and ran her hands through her hair. Did Killian Jones really just say he would wait for her? Emma mused over that for a while, deciding that Killian Jones was definitely mad. Hell, if she was being honest with herself, she was just as mad for even considering taking him up on his offer. Killian seemed sincere now and Emma had no doubt he really would wait an awfully long time for her to make her mind up on that date, but he would leave her once he got close enough to her. That had been Emma's story her whole life; her own parents didn't even want her. Who was she kidding, letting Killian be anything more than a friend was far too dangerous for Emma. So with that in mind, Emma drove around for a suitable place to park up for the night, trying to drive all thoughts of Killian from her head, but failing miserably.

* * *

Mary Margaret had completed all of her rounds of bringing flowers to the patients on the hospital ward except one; the John Doe coma patient lying in a separate room. She smoothed her hair down before she entered the room, though she had no idea why – it wasn't as if he could see her. Mary Margaret gazed at his face as she sat on the edge of his bed and she wouldn't deny it – he certainly was handsome. From his sandy brown hair, to the small amount of stubble that peppered his jaw, save for the faded – but still noticeable – scar on his chin. Mary Margaret found herself desperately wanting to know what colour his eyes were, but chastised herself for having such fanciful thoughts when she was here for a bigger reason than just to admire his appearance.

"Look, I know this is odd, but I'm doing it for a friend. So please, just bear with me," she said to him, opening the story book she gave Henry and beginning to read from it. "As the prince chased the thief on horseback, through treacherous forest, his betrothed crossed her arms and pouted, wondering how many dreadful, boring minutes it would take until they could resume their journey again. The thief vaulted over a fallen…"

Mary Margaret read to John Doe for what seemed like forever, but she never once felt like she should stop. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world, not necessarily the reading, but just being near him and spending time with him. It felt like time had stood still, and that the Earth had melted away, until all that was left was Mary Margaret and her coma patient and the story that she was completely wrapped up in.

It was a beautiful story, not exactly your typical fairy tale of Snow White and Prince Charming, but Mary Margaret felt that made it even better; that the hardships that they had been through only made their true love stronger. It made her attempt at a date with Dr Whale seem absolutely pathetic now, and only made her longing for love intensify. A love like Snow White and Prince Charming…

"They didn't need words to express what they felt in their hearts, for it was here, in the shadow of the troll bridge, that their love was born, where they knew, no matter how they were separated, they would always – "

Mary Margaret stopped suddenly as she felt someone grip her hand. She looked down at her hand and saw that that someone was John Doe. _This is impossible, he's waking up! I woke him up…_

Mary Margaret ran to get Dr Whale, determined that she had somehow made a difference to the man lying in the hospital bed, that she had… touched him in some way.

"No, I'm sure he's waking up. He… he grabbed my hand," she told Dr Whale as he stared her incredulously before he checked the monitor.

"Everything's steady. The same as it's always been. What were you doing in here?" the doctor asked her.

"Oh, I was just… reading h-him a story," Mary Margaret answered, inwardly wincing at how silly it sounded.

"Oh, well perhaps you dosed off. Perhaps you imagined it," Whale suggested, not willing to believe that what Mary Margaret was saying was true.

"No, I didn't imagine anything," she replied as she held her ground.

"Miss Blanchard, I can only tell you what I see, which is nothing. Sometimes there are minor fluctuations in readings. Perhaps you heard the machine register something and misunderstood? Look why don't you go home, get some rest. If anything changed, I'll call you, okay?" Dr Whale suggested.

Mary Margaret nodded, and picked the story book and turned to leave, giving one last glance in the direction of the coma patient. She turned back around to head home, noticing that it was actually quite late and she was beginning to feel a little tired. Nevertheless, Mary Margaret knew that she _had not_ imagined her earlier encounter that night.

* * *

As Mary Margaret was reading to the coma patient, most of Storybrooke's residents were asleep, including Killian Jones. It was no secret to anyone that knew of the curse's existence that certain events of late were beginning to weaken it, and the connection between John Doe and Mary Margaret that was made when he subconsciously grabbed her hand was one of these events. The minor tear that had appeared in the hazy veil of forgetfulness that cloaked the people of Storybrooke was large enough to let slip a few memories back into their dreams. Ruby dreamt of receiving a blood red cloak from her Granny for her 12th birthday, Leroy dreamt of the time when he got into trouble for kicking over a large box of diamonds when he was having a tantrum, and Archie dreamt of sewing a puppet back up after the stitching had come loose during one of his family's shows. All were very vivid and strange dreams, and that's just what they were passed off as – dreams. But none were as strange and vivid as Killian's…

 _He had finally finished all of the duties he was to attend to aboard the Jewel of the Realm and finally had some time just to admire the view that was one of the perks of being a sailor. This was the life that Killian had always dreamt of; roaming the open sea, feeling the wind whip at his clothes and the ocean spray in his face. It was perfect. Well, almost perfect. There was one thing that was playing on his mind, and no matter how much he threw himself into his chores or how often he paced, it wouldn't leave him alone._

 _Deciding he would have no option but to speak to his brother about this, Killian sort out his captain at the helm of the ship._

" _Permission to speak, captain," he said, the past three years of naval academy training drilled into him._

" _As my lieutenant or as my brother?" Liam responded, his eyes that were an identical colour to Killian's regarding him carefully._

" _As your brother," Killian said with an easy smile._

" _Of course, what is it you wish to speak with me about?" the elder of the Jones brothers asked, putting a hand on Killian's shoulder and guiding him towards the rail as they both looked out to sea._

" _I'm wondering if we did the right thing, leaving Jacquelyn behind," Killian confessed, looking towards the sea rather than his brother._

 _Liam sighed. "Killian…"_

" _I know it was for her safety, and I appreciate that, Liam, I do," the younger sibling said, finally turning to his brother. "But the way we just left her on the docks like that… we've never betrayed one another before. I'm not sure if I can forgive myself for letting her down like this."_

" _And what if we had let her come along, Killian? Suppose she got hurt, or went overboard. Would you have forgiven yourself then?" Liam countered, raising his voice slightly. Killian turned back to face the blue expanse, contemplating his brother's words. "Killian," he sighed. "I hate this just as much as you do, but I won't take the chance of her getting hurt. I can't."_

" _I understand, brother," Killian said. "It's just… we didn't even say goodbye to her. It's the first time we've ever left without saying goodbye in her whole life. What if we don't come back and she thinks that we abandoned her?"_

" _Then we'll have to take extra care to ensure that we do come back," Liam reassured him, patting his brother on the back and flashing him a signature Jones smile. "After all, when have the brothers Jones ever failed?"_

 _Killian smiled back at him, trusting his brother enough to know that they would be reunited with their sister in less than six weeks…_


	6. Chapter 5: Green Eyed Monster

**Hey everyone! I know I haven't updated in a while, I'm really sorry! I've done 9 exams over the past two weeks and I still have another 12 to go... but by the end of June I should be updated once, maybe twice a week, so please stick with me. As to a question written by an anonymous reviewer, yes there will be a little bit of Killian's POV in this chapter, but I plan on exploring that a lot more because of thee whole Graham and Emma situation that happens in canon. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, don't forget to review or pm me with questions or criticisms or anything really, I crave knowledge of what you all think of this! Is that weird? Maybe a little...**

* * *

Chapter 5: Green Eyed Monster

Emma was the first one at Granny's the next day, her legs bouncing up and down in anticipation. She was being ridiculous; Emma Swan was actually _nervous_ about seeing Killian again after last night. She tried as best she could to keep him out of her thoughts for the whole night, but the moment when he told her he would wait for her just kept replaying over and over again in her mind. If she wasn't careful, she would end up saying yes to that damn date. But then again, would that really be such a bad thing? Emma had kept people out for so long, never really letting anyone in after Neal had betrayed her; maybe it was time that she should start trusting people again. After all, she was beginning to let Henry in, and it was the best decision she had made in the past few years. Maybe she should take a chance with Killian, once she was ready. The bell above the door tinkled, causing Emma to look up from her cocoa. _Speak of the devil and he shall appear._

Killian slid into the booth opposite Emma, greeting her with one of his effortless smiles.

"Alright, Swan," he said, completely relaxed, as if he hadn't been rejected by her last night. This caused Emma to raise an eyebrow.

"We need to talk," Emma said, deciding to get straight to the point.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking, love," Killian quipped as he rolled his eyes. "Alright, Swan, what is it? Is it about last night?"

Emma took a deep breath, bracing herself for what she was about to say. "I said yesterday that I don't date, and I was telling the truth. The last date I went on was on my birthday, and it was a set up so that I could get the other half of the guys bail money. Needless to say, I'm not the best at dating and I doubt I ever will be," she began, looking from her cocoa to Killian, wondering if he had changed his mind about her. Surprisingly, she saw understanding reflected in his eyes and a silent signal for her to continue with her speech.

"What I mean is, I've tried this kind of thing before, and I… it ended badly for me. After that I decided that dating just wasn't for me."

"Well, then I'd really like to give the guy that did that to you a well-deserved punch in the face," Killian interrupted her. Emma looked at him in confusion. "I don't know what he did to you that could possibly put you off relationships for life, Swan, but I know he was a bloody idiot and you didn't deserve it, whatever it was," he said with a smile. "Plus, if he's ruined my chances of even having one date with you, then I'm really going to punch him," Killian added sarcastically.

"Well that's just what I was about to say. I thought about what you said yesterday, and you're right. New town – new life. But I don't think I'm at the whole dating stage just yet," Emma confessed.

"Well, you let me know when you are," Killian told her.

Emma put her elbows on the table and leaned in. "Tell you what, how about we just continue being friends for now. I haven't exactly had a lot of those either. Then maybe – and this is a big maybe – we can go on _one_ date. Just ask me again in a couple weeks," Emma said.

Killian leaned back in the booth and sighed. "Swan, you could turn me down every day for a month and I would still ask you again every day of the next month – but that would be bloody hard work so I'm really hoping you're not gonna do that," Killian told her, shoving his hands into his jacket pocket.

"Why?" Emma asked.

"I'm sorry?" Killian said, her question catching him off guard.

"You could probably go on a date with any girl in town, some you probably know quite well. Why are you asking me when we've only just met and I'm such hard work as you say?" she elaborated, curious as to why he was so interested.

"I honestly have no idea," he answered truthfully as he gazed into her eyes, making her head spin. "But anyways, I think you just admitted that we are indeed friends. Admit it, Swan, I'm going on you," Killian said with a mischievous smile.

"Watch it, Jones," Emma said with a mock glare as picked up her coffee cup and took a sip, still holding the glare she was giving Killian.

Killian's chuckle was heard throughout the diner as Henry entered and slid on to the seat next to Killian. "Hey, guys," he said.

"Hello, lad," Killian replied, ruffling Henry's hair like he usually did.

"Hey, kid. What's in the bag?" Emma asked, as he began to rummage around in his backpack.

"A shirt for you, figured since I dragged you from Boston without you planning on staying you wouldn't have anything with you," Henry said. Emma smiled at him when he handed the shirt over, touched at his thoughtfulness.

"I'll be right back," Emma said, and she got up to change her shirt in the bathroom.

Killian's eyes followed her as she left the main area of the diner. "Smart move, lad," he said, smiling down at Henry. "C'mon, I'll get you some cocoa," Killian offered, putting an arm around Henry's shoulders as he walked them over to the counter.

"Thanks, Killian," Henry said with a smile, which Killian returned immediately. It was no secret to anyone in the town that the pair were inseparable, not even the mayor could really prevent them from seeing each other. Killian was good for Henry, not just as someone who endorsed his fantasies, but as a friend. Henry didn't have many, if any, friends of his own age, preferring to hang around the older members of Storybrooke. Everyone else thought that it was because Henry just didn't have a knack for making friends, maybe because he seemed wise beyond his years, but Henry knew the truth. It was because his entire life he had grown up and progressed through school when every friend he had made when he was younger stayed in the same year group, not ageing because of the curse. So Henry had decided he should wait until the curse was broken before he made friends his own age, because at least with the adults it wasn't as obvious that they weren't ageing. Sometimes he did feel a little bit isolated from the other children at school, knowing that he was the black sheep of his class. But Killian never saw him like that, he saw him as… well, just Henry.

"So, how's Operation Cobra going?" Killian asked him once they were both settled back into the booth, Henry now sitting in Emma's seat opposite Killian.

"So far, it's going really well," Henry said enthusiastically. "We know that Miss Blanchard is Snow White, John Doe is Prince Charming, my mom is the Evil Queen and Emma is the Saviour. They're the main people we need to worry about because they're the most important. It's vital that we make Emma believe but we make sure my mom never finds out who Emma really is."

"And how do you propose we get Emma to believe? Because believe me, Henry, she is definitely a stubborn lass," Killian said, recalling their earlier conversation about how she would keep him waiting until she was ready. Not that he really minded, he enjoyed being around Emma, even if it was just as friends. But Killian could be just as stubborn as Emma, and he was determined to get at least one date from her – maybe that would answer some of the questions he had about why the damn woman was infecting his thoughts after knowing her for barely a week.

"That's where you come in," Henry said mischievously.

"Henry," Killian said warningly.

"Emma likes you Killian, I can tell! You guys are good friends; if she won't believe me, then maybe in time she'll believe you. In the meantime, I'm gonna be working on restoring everyone else's memories so that we can all help to convince her."

"While Emma and I might be friends, Henry, I doubt she'll be persuaded that easily," Killian said, cautious of the fact that Henry was building his hopes up.

"I said in time, didn't I?" Henry replied with a cheeky smirk. Killian rolled his eyes with a smile, seeing how much of himself was reflected in Henry's expression.

"Just don't expect me to work any miracles, alright?" Killian said, raising an eyebrow at the boy sitting opposite him.

Henry nodded at Killian, to which he responded with a wink once he was sure that Henry understood that Emma would not be easily persuaded.

"Thanks for the shirt. Hey, is this your mother's?" Emma asked, once she came back dressed in a silvery-grey blouse, sliding into the booth beside Killian since Henry had taken her space.

Henry and Killian shared a look. "She'll never notice," Henry said with a smirk. Killian snorted at this, causing Emma to look at him with a raised eyebrow. He just simply shrugged in response.

"Where does she think you are, anyway?" Emma asked Henry.

"Playing Whack-A-Mole."

Emma's eyebrows shot up at the same time Killian began to chuckle. "And she bought that?" she asked incredulously.

"She wants to believe it, so she does," Henry elaborated.

"Oh, imagine that," Emma responded sarcastically.

"She's here," Henry said as he spotted Mary Margaret entering the diner, visibly getting excited.

"Hey, don't get your hopes up. We're just getting started, okay?" Emma told him, not wanting to see him too disappointed when Mary Margaret told him that nothing had happened.

Mary Margaret slid into the booth next to Henry, looking perplexed.

"He woke up," she said simply.

Emma's jaw dropped and she blinked a few times in rapid succession while she began to comprehend what the teacher had said. "What?!" she and Killian asked together.

"I knew it!" Henry exclaimed, looking slightly smug.

"I mean he didn't 'wake up' wake up, but he grabbed my hand," Mary Margaret elaborated, her story becoming more bizarre with every word she said.

"He's remembering," Henry implored.

"What did the doctor say?" Killian asked, taking on the role of being the rational one in the situation.

"That I imagined it, but I'm not crazy. I know it happened," the teacher said. Emma sighed and looked towards Killian, who returned a similar gaze to her own. Convincing Henry that the curse wasn't real was gonna be a hell of a lot more difficult now.

"We have to go back, you have to read to him again," Henry said to Mary Margaret.

"Let's go," Mary Margaret nodded before Emma or Killian had a chance to intervene.

"Wait, wait, what?" Emma said, confused by the other woman's behaviour. Emma slid out of the booth and stopped Mary Margaret in the middle of the diner, halting her pursuit of Henry who was already at the door waiting for them. Killian also got out of the booth, but hung back to answer his phone when it started ringing.

"If I got through to him, if we made a connection…" Mary Margaret began.

"You don't believe…" Emma said, really hoping hers and Killian's plan hadn't backfired.

"That he's Prince Charming? Of course not," Mary Margaret finished for her, much to Emma's relief. There was only so much pretending she could cope with. "Somehow, someway – I touched him!" she said with a hint of excitement to her voice. And with that she turned around and paced back to the door to follow Henry, leaving a flabbergasted Emma behind her. Emma stood with her mouth open and blinked for a few seconds, before she shook her head and turned around to see Killian.

"Well, that was insane. Looks like convincing Henry is gonna be a little harder now that we have to convince Mary Margaret, too," Emma said as she rolled her eyes and stood next to Killian. The dark-haired deputy looked at her with trepidation. "What?" Emma asked, already knowing that she wasn't going to like the answer.

"That was Graham on the phone. Turns out that John Doe is missing," he said, looking her straight in the eye. Emma's eyebrows shot to her hairline.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me. C'mon, we better catch up to them," she said, automatically grabbing Killian's hand to tug him out of the diner.

* * *

The hospital wasn't too far away from Granny's, so by the time Emma and Killian had caught up to Mary Margaret and Henry they were already entering the hospital. The first thing Mary Margaret noticed was how there was lots of staff around, more than usual, and they seemed almost… panicked about something.

"Hey, listen, we have some news," Emma said, Killian shortly following behind her.

Mary Margaret turned to look at the pair, seeing worry etched on to their faces. "What's going on?" Mary Margaret asked, sensing that something was very wrong.

"You're right – he's waking up!" Henry said, and that was when Mary Margaret finally noticed Graham standing in front of the private room of her coma patient.

"Henry, you should stay back," Graham said, holding an arm out so Henry couldn't pass. Graham looked up from Henry to the rest of the group, noticing how Killian and Emma were standing quite close to one another. "You took your time," he said towards Killian, maybe a little more aggressively than necessary.

"I got here as quick as I could," Killian said with a defensive shrug.

"What's going on? Is it John Doe? Is he okay?" Mary Margaret asked, paying no attention to Graham and Killian. Her mind was racing at a million miles an hour; she _needed_ to hear that he wasn't the cause of all this activity, that he was safe.

"He's missing."

The words hit her like shards of ice being stabbed into her heart. Mary Margaret's mouth went dry, and she felt the overwhelming urge to sit down. Which was utterly ridiculous, of course. She naturally felt concern for people, it was her nature, but what she felt when Graham had uttered his simple statement was sheer panic that was bordering on hysteria. She hadn't even known the man, only seeing him when she'd brought him flowers, but last night, reading to him, it was as if she had known him for years.

"Oh, bloody hell," Killian muttered under his breath, and Mary Margaret, Emma and Henry all turned to see what had elicited his reaction. Regina was standing with the doctors in the private room, and had spotted them through the transparent wall.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded as she stalked towards them, her eyes burning like coal. "And you – I thought you were at the arcade. Now you're lying to me?" she addressed Henry, having the gall to look hurt.

"What happened to John Doe? Did someone take him?" Mary Margaret blurted out, all traces of feeling intimidated by the woman in front of her seemingly gone. At the minute, Mary Margaret felt as though she could look the devil in the eye and demand the same thing if it would mean getting some answers, which wouldn't be so different than asking Regina anyway.

"We don't know yet," Graham answered. "His IVs were ripped out but there's no sign for sure there was a struggle."

"What did you do?" Henry asked Regina accusatorily.

"You think I had something to do with this?" she replied incredulously.

"It is curious that the mayor is here," Emma said with narrowed eyes.

"Aye, especially when she has no connection to John Doe, and no connection to the police department. Well, at least not to my knowledge, anyway," Killian said, throwing a knowing look at Graham who had the decency to look slightly guilty.

"I'm here because I'm his emergency contact," she told them icily.

Mary Margaret's heart sank. "You know him?" she asked, trying not to let her disappointment seep into her voice. If Regina knew him, she would make sure that he had nothing to do with Mary Margaret if they found him – no, _when_ they found him.

"I found him. On the side of the road years ago with no ID. I brought him here," Regina elaborated, making Mary Margaret feel slightly better despite everything. At least the man didn't have the misfortune of being connected to the mayor in any way.

"Mayor Mills saved his life," Dr Whale said, appearing behind Regina to join the group.

"Will he be okay?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Okay? The man's been on feeding tubes for years on constant supervision," Whale said.

"Well, obviously not bloody constant enough," Killian said to the doctor with a glare, not liking the way he was talking to Mary Margaret as if she was stupid.

The doctor shot him a look but said nothing about it. "He needs to get back here right away or, quite honestly, 'okay' might be a pipe dream."

"Well then, let's quit yapping and start looking," Emma interjected.

"That's what we're doing! Just stay out of this, dear. And since I clearly can't keep you away from my son, I guess I'm just going to have to keep my son away from you. Enjoy my shirt, because that's all you're getting," Regina said, glaring at Emma, who just glared right back at her. "Sheriff, find John Doe. You heard Dr. Whale, time is precious," she addressed Graham. Then Regina took Henry by the hand and led him out of the hospital.

Graham turned back around to talk to Whale about some more details of John Doe's disappearance, leaving the three remaining members of the group alone.

"She's a bloody Rottweiler," Killian said, looking towards the door Regina had just exited with disdain.

"Hey, don't get yourself worked up about her, she's just being her usual self, we have bigger things to focus on," Emma said, placing a hand on his shoulder to get him to look at her. When he eventually did look at her he smiled, realising their role reversal – usually Killian was the one to reassure or calm Emma down, but just now she had done the same for him. They really did make quite them team.

Emma let her hand slide off his shoulder as she returned his smile, just in time for Graham to see their little interaction, causing a spike of jealously to rise up inside of him. Shaking the thought away from his head, he addressed the group, telling them that they should take a look at the security tapes for the last twelve hours. He guided the group upstairs to the security room, placing a hand lightly at the top of Emma's back and making sure that Killian could see it.

In all honesty, this behaviour sort of scared Graham a bit; he'd never been spiteful with anyone before – especially not Killian – and he'd certainly never felt jealousy, at least not on this level. He didn't want to fall out with his best friend, which was inevitably where this little feud would lead to, but there was just something about Emma Swan that compelled Graham so much. Was it any wonder that Killian wasn't the only one to fall under her spell?

* * *

After Emma had cleverly spotted that they were looking at the wrong tape, the unlikely group discovered that John Doe had somehow woken up and walked out of the hospital on his own. That was the good news. The bad news was that the door he walked out of led straight to the woods. So there they were, trekking through the trees with flashlights in their hands, trying to find the mysterious coma patient. Suddenly, Graham let out a frustrated sigh.

"What is it?" Emma asked.

"The trail runs out here," Graham said, raking a hand through his hair.

"You sure? Because I thought tracking was one of your skills," she replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Just give me a second. This is my world, I got it," Graham said, sounding slightly stressed.

"Right, sorry," Emma said, deciding to take a step back and let the sheriff do his job. Graham continued on ahead of the group and Killian followed him, turning round to give Emma and Mary Margaret a slight shrug at Graham's stressed behaviour before he quickened his pace to catch up with his friend.

"What does he mean 'his world'? Isn't finding people your thing, too?" Mary Margaret asked her, as the two women fell into step with each other.

"Sure, just people I find usually run places like Vegas. Not a lot hit the woods," Emma said, her discomfort at being out of her element coming through in her voice.

"That's an interesting job – finding people," Mary Margaret commented. "How'd you fall into it?" she asked conversationally.

Emma faltered briefly, her question bringing up painful memories of cold trails and dead ends. "Looking for people is just what I've done for as long as I can remember," she replied with a sad smile, clearly wanting that to be the end of that particular topic of conversation.

But, of course, Mary Margaret wasn't taking the hint.

"What made you start? Your parents?" she asked bluntly before she could stop herself. Emma wheeled round in shock at her words, not expecting her to guess that. "Henry told me that you're… th-that you were from a similar situation to his own," she elaborated, choosing her words carefully. "Did you ever find them?"

Despite everything, Emma found it quite comical that her supposed 'mother' was asking her if she'd found her parents. "Depends who you ask," she replied slyly, amused at Mary Margaret's confused expression.

Meanwhile, up ahead Graham and Killian were still trying to find something that could keep them on the trail of John Doe. To say that things were tense between the two men was a slight understatement after their unusual icy encounter back at the hospital. Knowing that they would need to sort this out soon – they did live and work together, after all – Killian walked over to Graham.

"Don't worry about the cold trail, mate, we'll find him," the deputy said, placing a hand on the sheriff's shoulder.

Graham looked up at his friend, immediately feeling a wave of guilt wash over him. "I'm sorry, Killian, about the way I've been acting recently," he said sincerely. He'd known being petulant about Emma back at the hospital had been a dick move. For all he knew, Graham could be getting jealous over nothing, Killian might just want to be friends with Emma. But Graham didn't know that Killian was also hoping the same thing about the sheriff and Emma's relationship. "I know that I haven't been the easiest person to be around recently. It's just… I feel like everything is screwing with my head at the minute; I mean, everything that's going on with Regina – it's like, I thought that I wanted what I have with Regina, and that everything was fine, but then Emma comes along and I've realised that I don't feel _anything_ with Regina," Graham explained, turning away from Killian so he could continue looking for a clue to John Doe's whereabouts. He didn't see the deflated expression that Killian wore when he mentioned Emma.

"What's Emma got to do with it?" Killian asked, trying to sound curious rather than jealous.

"Hell if I know, Jones. Like I said, everything is just screwing with my head. It doesn't help I've been having these really weird dreams for the past week – I've barely slept for four hours each night," Graham said, rubbing his free hand over his face. Killian could see how much distress his friend was in, and decided that worrying about Graham's feelings for Emma would have to be pushed to one side for now – his brother needed him, and he wouldn't let a woman, of all things, get in the way of their friendship. Even if said woman happened to be Emma Swan.

"Bloody women, mate, they'll drive you insane. Maybe you're better off away from it all at the minute. Break things off with Regina, or at least distance yourself a bit. She's suffocating you," Killian said seriously.

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Graham said, reassured by his friend's words not only by what he said, but in the knowledge that he still had his back even though he'd been an arse recently.

"I'm always right, there's no 'maybe' about it," the dark-haired man said with a wink.

"Piss off, Jones," the sheriff said with a smirk to match the deputy's. Killian's face fell in the knowledge that he was still pending a date with Emma, but he was interrupted before he could tell Graham anything else.

"Henry!" came Mary Margaret's voice from behind them, the other's finally catching up to them.

"Did you find him?" Henry asked. Killian rolled his eyes. Of course Henry would sneak out and follow them.

"Henry, your mother would have a fit if she knew you were here," Killian reprimanded.

"So let's not tell her," Henry said, which had the deputy resisting a smirk.

"C'mon kid, you really shouldn't be here," Emma said, obvious concern lacing her tone.

"I can help, I know where he's going!"

"And where's that?" Mary Margaret asked him.

"He's looking for you," Henry replied to her, looking her dead in the eye. The group looked at each other over Henry's head. Tonight possibly was the craziest night Storybrooke had ever seen. So far anyway.

* * *

After another fifteen minutes of hearing Henry harping on about his fairy tales, Emma was beginning to admit that she was getting a little tired of it all. I mean, she was hardly one to be responsible or to give lectures about it but Henry was a bright kid; he knew that he could have been hurt coming out in the dark on his own without anyone knowing where he was. He could have fallen and broken something without anyone around to help him, or worse! Emma couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to Henry, she really needed to get him home.

"But he loves you!" Emma heard Henry telling Mary Margaret. "You need to stop chasing him and let him find you!"

"Kid, you need to go home," Emma said reluctantly, wanting to spend time with Henry but knowing that it was still dangerous for him to be out there with them. Even with two police officers, nothing could protect them from the dangers of Regina's wrath, and Emma really didn't want to be on the receiving end of that. "Where's your mom? She's going to kill me and then you… and then me again," Emma added, pulling a face.

"She dropped me at the house, then went right out," Henry explained. His words caused Emma's gut to twist with a mixture of guilt and anger. How dare Regina leave him in the house on his own for hours at night, the kid was barely ten years old and he was already getting used to the idea of his adoptive mother leaving him on his own. It made Emma feel all the more guilty for giving Henry up, just another item added to the list of things that Regina was supposed to provide for Henry that she hadn't.

"Well, we need to get you back immediately," Emma said, trying the stern approach.

"No!" Henry protested.

"Guys!" Graham shouted, interrupting them. He held up a blue wristband from the hospital that was tainted with a dark, shiny liquid.

"Is that…" Mary Margaret tailed off, not wanting to entertain the possibility.

"Blood," Emma and Killian said in unison, the atmosphere around the group dropping about ten degrees.

After continuing on with a newly developed sense of urgency, the group made their way towards the old toll bridge, which someone had comically vandalised so the sign now read 'Troll Bridge'.

"Where is he? Can you see him?" Mary Margaret asked, sheer panic seeping into her voice.

"The trail dies at the water line," Graham said. At his words, they all looked at the lake, hoping that the worst wasn't true. But a figure of a body lay in the shallows of the lake, interrupting its smooth surface.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" Mary Margaret exclaimed, sprinting over to the man lying in the water.

Emma was just about to rush over to the others to help when she felt Killian grab her arm. "Stay with Henry," he told her, and she nodded in agreement.

Killian ran over to Graham and Mary Margaret and helped them carry John Doe out of the water. As soon as he was on dry land Graham got up and rang for an ambulance.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Henry's small, scared voice asked. Emma felt for the kid, this was not an easy thing for him to be witnessing and she really didn't want him seeing this.

"Henry, don't look, okay? Don't look," Emma said, rushing over to him and hugging him close to her, cradling his head as if to shelter him from the crisis that was happening in front of them.

By the edge of the lake, Mary Margaret was not only panicking, she was hysterical. "No, no, no, no, no! No, no, no – I found you!" she argued, as if that should make all the difference in the world whether he lives or dies.

"It's gonna be okay, the ambulance is on its way," Killian reassured her. He looked up to see that Emma was holding Henry close to her, trying to shield him from all of the trauma, and figured he should go over to help distract him, so he got up and left Mary Margaret alone with the coma patient once she started doing compressions on his chest.

"Come back to us!" she begged John Doe. "Come back to me…"

She pressed her mouth to his to try and resuscitate him, but it soon turned into more of a chaste kiss than CPR. She knew that she should be trying to return the air to his lungs, but at the minute her gut instinct was telling her that she had to kiss this man, that she _needed_ to kiss him. But it seemed to do the trick; the coma patient began to cough and splutter the water back out of his lungs and inhaled deeply. He looked up into Mary Margaret's eyes and the sight took her breath away. _Blue eyes, he has blue eyes,_ Mary Margaret thought, after wondering the previous night.

"You saved me," he breathed. "Thank you."

"Who are you?" Mary Margaret asked gently.

"I don't know."

"It's okay. You're going to be okay," she smiled at him, her fingers gently curling through his hair.

"She did it, she woke him up," Henry beamed at Killian and Emma, both of whom had one hand each on Henry's shoulders.

"Yeah, kid, she did," Emma said in disbelief. _Could it be…?_

"Bit of a reverse version of Snow White," Killian said with a wink in Emma's direction. Convincing Henry that the curse was not real was definitely going to be a lot more difficult now.


	7. Chapter 6: Long-Term Plans

**Hey guys! Like I said before, things have been really hectic recently because of exams and revision, and my grandma has just come out of hospital so I'm looking after her a bit too, so updates are a bit slow at the minute. This is a bit of a filler chapter, but next chapter will have lots of action and probably lots of Captain Swan and jealous!Graham. I promise. I'm sorry, I really suck at the minute, and this isn't the longest chapter in the world but still. Also, I'd better mention now that I'm not gonna write each individual episode because I feel like it slows the story down a bit, so I have missed quite a bit out of the next episode because it's virtually the same. Anyway, give me a review or pm about what you liked/didn't like about this chapter and I'll make sure to bear it in mind for the rest of the story. Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6: Long-Term Plans

"Watch your back! Coming through," a nurse shouted as a team of hospital staff wheeled John Doe back to his place in the hospital.

"We got it from here," Dr Whale said to Emma and the others as they came to a standstill in front of the glass doors of the private hospital room.

Mary Margaret's heart was almost beating out of her chest. She had woken this man up, only to have him go missing, almost die, and once again be woken up by her all in the space of twenty four hours. And yet, for some strange reason she felt undeniably happy. That is until a blonde woman rushed past the group and charged into the room that John Doe was being treated in.

"David! David, is that you?" she said, her sobs causing her voice to shake.

Mary Margaret, Emma, Killian, Graham and Henry looked between themselves and the woman who was causing such a scene in front of them, each of them wearing a matching expression of confusion.

"Who is that?" Mary Margaret wondered aloud.

"His wife," Regina answered, causing everyone to turn around and see the twisted smirk she was wearing. Mary Margaret's heart sunk. She felt as though her world had suddenly stopped turning – which was utterly ridiculous. She should be happy that this man had found his family, that he had someone to take care of him. So why did she feel so devastated?

"His name is David Nolan," Regina explained, but Mary Margaret barely heard her as she wandered over to watch the couple's interaction from the other side of the glass. How fitting that she should be standing on the outside looking in.

The blonde woman, Kathryn, finally tore herself away from David and came outside to meet the group.

"Thank you. Thank you for finding my David," she said to them gratefully.

"Um I – I don't understand. You didn't… you didn't know that he was here in a coma?" Mary Margaret asked, all of a sudden becoming suspicious. She couldn't believe that no one would come looking for him, especially his wife.

"A few years ago, David and I were not getting along," she explained. "It was my fault, I know that now. I was difficult and unsupportive. I told him if he didn't like things, he could leave. And he did, and I didn't stop him. It was the worst mistake I ever made," she finished, beginning to tear up again.

"You didn't try to look for him?" Killian asked, equally as suspicious as Mary Margaret.

"I assumed he'd left town all this time. And now I know why I never heard from him. Now I get to do what I've wanted to do forever – say I'm sorry. Now we get a second chance."

"That's wonderful," Mary Margaret said, trying to sound sincere even though the words felt as though they were scratching their way up her throat they were so forced.

"Well, it's something of a miracle," Dr Whale said as he rejoined the group.

"He's okay?" Kathryn asked, the hope tangible in her voice.

"Ah, physically, he's on the mend, um, his memory's another issue. It may take time, if at all."

"What brought him back?" Mary Margaret asked. She had no business asking, really; he was a complete stranger to her. But she needed to know if it was something purely medical… or if it was maybe something to do with her.

"That's the thing. There's no explanation. Something just clicked in him," Whale said, oblivious to the way Mary Margaret reacted to his words. Did this mean that she… no, it was impossible – she couldn't have been the cause of him waking.

"He just got up and decided to go for a stroll?" Emma said incredulously.

"He woke up and he was delirious and his first instinct was to go find something, I guess," the doctor replied.

"Someone," came Henry's voice, barely audible but just enough for Mary Margaret to hear.

"Can I see him?" Kathryn asked, bringing Mary Margaret back to reality. Of course he wasn't looking for her, she didn't even know the guy and he'd just woken up from a coma, there was no way he would be looking for her. Kathryn gave a small smile to the group and made her way into David's room, leaving everyone else behind her.

"Henry, let's go," Regina said in an authoritative voice.

Henry suddenly pulled away from Regina. "Wait, my backpack," he said, returning to the group to get it. "Don't believe them," he whispered to Mary Margaret on his way back. "You're the one he was looking for."

"Henry…" Mary Margaret began, not wanting to get into all of this with Henry.

"He was going to the Troll Bridge. It's like at the end of the story," he implored.

"C'mon lad, we've all had a tiring day and you really need to be getting back to your mother now," Killian interjected as he placed a hand on Henry's shoulder, seeing how dejected Mary Margaret looked.

She flashed a small, grateful smile at Killian. "Henry, he was going there because it was the last thing I read to him," Mary Margaret said, trying her best to convince him.

"No, it's because you two belong together!"

"Henry!" Regina sounded.

Henry reluctantly backed away and returned to Regina's side, leaving the four adults to mull over what he had said.

Suddenly, Emma abruptly excused herself. "I have to go," she said. It was one of the only things she had said after they had got back to the hospital, so her sharp exit made Killian wonder what she was thinking. He may have only known Emma for a short while, but he knew that whenever she was quiet for a long period of time she was thinking, and whenever Regina was involved those thoughts usually led to rash and impulsive decisions.

"I'll go make sure she doesn't cause a scene," Killian said to Graham and Mary Margaret, the other two adults already knowing exactly what was going through Emma's mind. She really was an open book when it came to her thoughts on Regina and Henry.

Killian took up a light jog to catch up with Emma who was making her way over to Regina and Henry.

"Wait by the car," he heard Regina say to Henry, before she turned back to face Emma and Killian.

"Miss Swan, I let you off the hook back there," Regina said with an oddly amused glance in Killian's direction which only served to confuse him. "Don't press it," she said with an air of finality.

"I'm sorry, but Mrs Nolan? Kind of feels like her story could be a load of crap. All this time there's a John Doe lying around in a coma and nobody puts it in the news, nobody goes looking. Something's not right here," Emma said, her arms folded in front of her defensively.

Killian had to admit, she did have a point.

"Well, what else would make sense to you? Why would Mrs Nolan lie? Do you think I cast a spell on her?" Regina asked sarcastically.

"It is rather strange you've been his emergency contact all these years and you only found her now," Killian piped up, narrowing his eyes at Regina.

"Well, this town is bigger than you might think, Deputy," Regina said icily. "It's entirely possible to get lost here. It's entirely possible for bad things to happen."

"And just when it's convenient you manage to solve the mystery?" Emma shot back with a raised eyebrow.

"Thanks to you," Regina replied with a sickly sweet smile to which Emma and Killian both frowned at. "That tape you found was a stroke of genius. So, we went back and looked at past tapes. Turns out Mr Doe's been calling out for a Kathryn. After that, it wasn't hard to put the pieces together," Regina elaborated, causing the pair to cringe slightly at their semi-accusations. "And here I thought you would all be pleased. True love won out. So bask in the moment, dears. Were it not for you three they would have lived their lives completely alone. That's why I'm willing to forgive your incessant rudeness. Because all this has reminded me of something oh-so very important. How grateful I am to have Henry. Because not having someone? Well, that's the worst curse imaginable." And with another wicked smirk, Regina turned around and stalked away, leaving a stony-faced Emma in her wake.

"Don't listen to her, Swan. She's just trying to rile you up," Killian said as he walked to stand in front of Emma, forcing her to look up to him.

"Yeah, well, it's working. She's right, Killian. She has Henry, I don't have anyone, I never have," Emma said as her eyes locked with his. Killian's heart clenched at the hopelessness he saw in her eyes and all he wanted to do in that moment was make it all go away for her.

"Emma, that's not true," he told her, placing his hands on her shoulders. It was one of the few times he had called her by her first name. "You have me, we're friends now, remember? I did get you to admit it just this morning," he told her with one of his signature smirks, lightening her mood considerably. Emma beamed up at him, his words once again knocking a few more cracks into her walls. No one had ever really told her that they were there for her. Sure, Neal used to have her back when they were on the run together, but he ultimately let her take the fall for him. But looking at Killian now, Emma could see that he was sincere, and she started to think maybe it really wouldn't be such a bad idea to have a friend.

"And, whether you choose to believe it or not Emma, I'm not the only person who cares about you. Mary Margaret told me about you sleeping in your car. Do me a favour and take her up on her offer of the spare room? It won't do anybody any good you staying in your car, because as well as it not being the most beneficial position for you to be in, it's only going to make Mary Margaret and I worry about you. And if you haven't already noticed, she gets quite erratic when she's worried," Killian told her.

"And what about you? What are you like when you're worried?" Emma asked with a teasing smirk.

"Well, I'm practically a nervous wreck, you're lucky I haven't been brought into this hospital already," he replied sarcastically, causing Emma to laugh.

"Okay, I'll reconsider her offer, but I make no promises," she said.

Killian gave an over-dramatic sigh. "Why do you always have to be so difficult, Swan?" he asked her mockingly as he let go of her shoulders and they walked back to find Mary Margaret and Graham.

But Emma wasn't really being difficult; she already knew that she would ask Mary Margaret about her room that night. She decided that it was nice to have someone worry about her for a change.

* * *

"Are you sure we can be seen out in the open?" Henry asked Emma, looking around nervously as they walked towards the bus stop.

"Enough sneaking around. If your mom has a problem with me walking you to a school bus, I am more than happy to have that chat," Emma replied, not giving a damn about what Regina thought. After what Regina had said at the hospital a couple of nights ago about not having anyone, Emma really wanted to prove to herself that she did have people that cared about her. Spending time with Killian was a risky move, she had already semi-agreed to go on a date with him sometime, and while she didn't think it was a bad thing that she was letting her walls down ever so slightly, she was still treading cautiously. So, Emma decided that Henry was the safest option – besides, she would have been spending time with Henry anyway. She still felt that she needed to know the kid. It turned out that the need to know if Henry was okay was blossoming into something much more, and Emma's growing affection for Henry had taken her by surprise. And even though it scared her, she could honestly say that she was meeting the challenge head-on.

"You're brave," Henry stated, eyeing her carefully. "You'll need that for Operation Cobra. Speaking of, do you think we need code names?" he asked her.

"Isn't Cobra our code name?"

"That's the mission. I mean us. I need something to call you," Henry elaborated.

 _Uh oh,_ Emma thought. While she was meeting the challenge head-on, she seriously doubted she was ready for _that_ word yet.

"Oh, um… well, I don't… you can just call me 'Emma' for now," she said, coming to a standstill at the bus stop.

"Okay, well I'll see you later, Emma," Henry smiled at her, testing her 'code name' out.

Henry boarded the school bus and Emma waited until it drove out of sight before she turned to continue walking. She probably only walked about three steps before a siren caught her off-guard and made her look around.

"What's with the siren?" she asked the sheriff with a raised eyebrow.

"It's so hard to get your attention," he said sarcastically, making Emma smile and roll her eyes at him.

"Alright, well you got it. Are you arresting me again?"

"I'm thanking you," he said with a small smile. "For your help finding that coma patient. We all owe you a debt of gratitude."

"Well, what do I get? A commendation? Key to the city?" Emma asked mischievously.

"How about a job?"

Well, that certainly wasn't what Emma had been expecting.

"I could use another deputy," Graham explained.

"Thank you, but I have a job," Emma said, unsure about the whole proposition.

"As a bail bondsperson? There's not much of that going on here," Graham said. He had a point.

"I don't see a lot of sheriffing going on around here either," Emma shot back at him.

"Well, here's your chance to see it up close. There's dental," he added, as if that would automatically sway her decision. "Why don't you think about it and stay awhile," he told her, handing her his card.

With a quick wink, he turned back and got in his car to drive off.

* * *

It had been a pretty hectic day for Emma; it's not every day you chase down a dangerous pregnant maid and end up making a deal with the most dangerous man in town for her to keep her baby. So yeah, Emma was feeling pretty drained. But she still couldn't take her mind off Henry, about what he said. Sure, Emma could leave whenever she wanted to, but the thing was the longer she stayed, the more she _wanted_ to stay. But she still found it difficult to prove this to Henry – he only believed she was here because of the curse. Emma stood leaning against her car thinking intensely about the odd situation she found herself in when her thoughts were interrupted.

"Penny for your thoughts, Swan?" Killian said, strolling over to her with his hands shoved into his leather jacket.

Emma smiled at him automatically when she saw him before she glanced back down at her feet.

"Today's just been a bit crazy. Brought up a lot of things that I haven't thought about in a long time," she replied vaguely. It was true, the maid – Ashley – had reminded Emma of herself, only Ashley had a much happier ending. But now Emma had a sliver of a chance at that happiness, and she didn't want to let it go.

"I just have no idea how I can prove to Henry that I'm here for him. It's like every time we talk or I drop him off at home or the bus stop I can just see this… worry in his eyes that at the end of the sentence I'm gonna say that I'm going back to Boston. I know he'd never admit it, but I can see he's scared that I'm gonna abandon him. Again," Emma added as an afterthought.

"It's only natural for him, Emma. Everything in his life has always been constant, and now you're here and everything is changing," Killian said, his sea blue eyes piercing into hers. "He's not used to all of this change; he's bound to be a little worried about it. But, I know that he's loving every minute of it. He's a smart kid, he knows that change is usually a good thing. And in this case, it's a bloody amazing thing," he told her with one of his rare, proper smiles that never failed to make Emma blush.

Emma smiled at him, thankful that the darkness was hiding the pink tint to her cheeks. Did Killian really just imply that she was amazing?

"That still doesn't give me any ideas for how I can prove to him that I'm here to stay," Emma said, her smile fading slightly.

"Then make a statement about it," Killian said with a shrug. "If there's anything I know about you, Swan, it's that you don't do things by half. When Regina attempted to have you arrested, you went a chopped half of her beloved apple tree down. If that's not a statement, I don't know what is," Killian said with a chuckle.

Emma smirked at the memory. "I think I have an idea… maybe," Emma said, her smirk growing wider.

"Does said idea have the potential to really irritate Regina?" Killian asked, instantly knowing what that smirk meant.

"Oh yeah," Emma replied wickedly.

"Well then, I look forward to your statement. Goodnight, Emma," Killian said with a wink.

"Night Killian," Emma replied, her smirk turning into a lingering smile as she watched him walk away.

Her stupid, goofy smile remained plastered on her face as she reached into her pocket to get the card Graham had given her yesterday. Emma punched the numbers into her phone and waited for Graham to answer.

"Hello?"

"Graham, it's Emma. I was thinking maybe some roots wouldn't be so bad. That deputy job still open?" Emma asked him.

"Absolutely," Graham replied.

"Then I'm in. Regina gonna be okay with this?" Emma said, hoping that she really wouldn't be.

"I don't care, it's my department. I'll see you Monday morning."

"I'll see ya," Emma said, hanging up the phone.

Her smile grew even wider, and it wasn't just the fact that this was gonna annoy the crap out of Regina. It was the fact that Emma was proving Regina wrong. Emma did have people that cared about her, she knew that, now she needed Regina to know it. Emma was changing her life, just like Ashley had changed hers. Also, the idea of seeing startling blue eyes and jet black hair everyday was somewhat enticing, and Emma wouldn't even deny it to herself anymore. Though that didn't mean she was going to admit it to others. Still, the idea of working with Killian made Emma very happy, and she had absolutely no idea why. Not yet, anyway.

* * *

"Jack, what are you doing? We need to get away _now_ ," Liza implored as she watched her friend flop down on her bed.

"No, Liza, we need to stay away from her! She's not ready to travel yet. You remember how difficult it was to get to this realm, do you really think she would be able to handle a journey like that after a week?" Jack asked her incredulously.

"It's the Enchanted Forest, Jack, it's an easy journey!"

"Liza, I said no," Jack replied, cutting Liza off with a glare. It wasn't often that the two argued, but whenever Jack used that particular tone Liza knew not to argue.

Jack sighed and ran a hand through her long tresses of wavy black hair. "I'm sorry, Liza," she said, as got up from the bed and leaned against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. "But I can't risk a voyage just yet. We're so close now, I don't think I could take it if we ended up stranded in a random realm."

Liza looked up at her friend and a pang of sympathy shot through her.

"Don't."

"I haven't done anything," Liza said defensively.

"You were about to go all sympathetic on me," Jack countered with a raised eyebrow.

Liza ignored her. "We will find them, Jack."

Jack looked up and started fiddling with her reed necklace. "I know we will," she said with a small genuine smile. Liza was the only person who ever saw Jack with her guard completely down, and even that was on rare occasions. Just as quickly as it had appeared, her smile vanished and was replaced with a sarcastic smirk.

"Enough of that though, you're making me go soft. I can't afford to go soft," Jack said.

Liza rolled her eyes. "God forbid, what on earth would that do to your credibility?"

"It's no laughing matter, Liza. I have a reputation to uphold," Jack replied, her voice practically dripping with sarcasm. "Now, c'mon, we need some sort of plan for when we get back to the Enchanted Forest." Jack pushed herself off the wall and crossed the room to the desk on the opposite wall.

"When do you ever make plans?" Liza asked with a snort as she walked over to the desk where Jack was now sitting, their stolen map spread out in front of them.

"I'll have you know I always make plans," Jack retorted in mock offence. "I just very rarely stick to them, and the ones I do stick usually end up going wrong," she admitted, causing Liza to giggle. "But, have I ever failed you?"

Liza shot her a sly look. "Would you like that list chronologically, or alphabetically?"


	8. Chapter 7: First Day

**I know I said updates would be slow over the next few weeks but it seems as though I tend to write when I procrastinate over revision. Good news for you guys, bad news for my results. Oh well! This was a mammoth chapter to write; there's lots going on and I think it's the longest one I've written so far. I'm a bit anxious to know what you all think about this chapter because this will include a few tentative steps into a Captain Swan dynamic and I just hope I've got their characters right. So give me a review or pm of what you think or if you have any questions. Also, if you have any questions about Jack, give me a pm and I'll try to answer them as best as I can - I know she seems a bit random at the minute but things will all make sense later. Much later... After all, she is a part of Killian's past which we all know is very complicated so she herself is bound to be a little complicated. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 7: First Day

"So, Mr Nolan, how are you feeling today?" Graham asked.

It was around four days after David had woken up, the first day that the officers had been allowed in to question him. Graham and Killian had been itching to question him since they brought him back to the hospital, simply to satisfy their own curiosity more than anything else.

"Much better, thank you. Who are you exactly?" David asked them.

"Ah, sorry. I'm Sheriff Graham Humbert, this is my partner Deputy Killian Jones," he said, flashing his badge at the same time Killian did.

"We just wanted to ask you some routine questions. Nothing to worry about, you're not in any trouble. I mean, you have a pretty good alibi," Killian said, gesturing to the hospital bed.

"Yeah, of course, ask away," David replied.

"Do you remember anything from the night you woke up?" Graham started.

David shook his head. "Just the intense need I had to find something. It's funny, I can't even remember what I was looking for."

"And your memories before your accident, any of them coming back?" Killian asked.

"I wish they were. I'm sorry I can't be of more help."

"That's quite alright, Mr Nolan. While the circumstances may be odd, they are not in any way suspicious. As we said, these questions are purely routine," Graham said. "Well, I think that's about it. I'm gonna head back over to the station. Will stay and talk to Dr Whale for a bit?" Graham asked Killian.

"No problem," Killian replied.

"Great. Well, goodbye Mr Nolan," Graham said respectfully before he backed out of the room.

Killian turned back around to face David Nolan. "Do you have any questions, Mr Nolan? I know that this must be very disorientating for you, so just ask away if you're wondering about anything, though I'm not sure how much use I'll be."

"There is the one thing. Can you tell me a bit about the woman that found me?" David asked.

"Mary Margaret? She's a school teacher here in Storybrooke, and a volunteer at the hospital on nights. She was actually reading to you just before you woke up," Killian told him, unsure about why he was asking this.

David nodded as if taking this into consideration. "Deputy Jones, do you think I'll get my memories back?" David asked suddenly.

"It's not really my place to say, I'm not exactly-"

"I don't want a medical opinion," David interrupted. "Medical opinions are all I've been getting recently. I want your opinion; you helped find me, after all."

"I honestly have no idea, Mr Nolan. Maybe instead of trying to regain your old memories, you should focus on making new ones," Killian told him.

David seemed to consider his words for a minute before nodding. Killian reached into his pocket and pulled out his card.

"Listen, I have no idea what it's like to wake up from a coma and have no memories of who I am, but if you ever need anything here's my number," Killian said as he handed him the card. "Oh, and you can lose the 'Deputy Jones', just call me Killian. I've never really been one for formalities."

"In that case, Killian, you can just call me David. Thanks for the card," he replied.

Killian gave a brief nod to him before he made his way out of the room.

"Killian?" David called after him, causing him to turn around. "If you see Mary Margaret around, could you tell her that I would appreciate it if she came to see me? I'd really like to thank her properly."

"Will do, David."

And with a casual wave, Killian departed to go through some routine questions with Dr Whale.

* * *

Henry was studying Dr Hopper, or rather Jiminy Cricket, with great intensity.

"You weren't always a cricket," he said suddenly.

"I wasn't al… oh right, because um… because you think I'm Jiminy Cricket. Why… why do you… why do you think that Henry?" Dr Hopper asked him cautiously.

"It's just because of who you are," Henry answered him, as if it should be obvious.

"And who am I?"

"You're a conscience. You help people see right from wrong."

"So all of the crickets in Storybrooke, they were once people too?" Archie asked, not quite understanding what Henry meant.

Henry got up from the couch and walked over to the open window. "There aren't any crickets here. Listen," he said, and they both listened to the silence for a moment.

"Maybe it isn't late enough," Archie supplied when Henry returned to his sitting position.

"There's never been crickets here. You've just never noticed."

"So you think that's proof there's a curse?" the doctor pressed.

"Yes, but I know it's not enough. I'm looking for more," said Henry.

"So Henry, look, I asked you this once before and you said you'd think about it. Why do you think it is so important that this is real?" Dr Hopper asked with great curiosity.

 _Because it's your life and I want to help you get it back. Because I don't want to be with Regina anymore. Because I want Emma to believe in herself._

All of these were perfectly rational explanations in Henry's mind, but he knew Dr Hopper wouldn't see it like that.

"It… it just is," Henry said with conviction.

"Alright, well… Keep thinking about that answer, Henry. 'Cause I think there's something buried there," Archie replied with a small smile.

Henry smiled back, feeling full of hope that the curse would eventually be broken.

* * *

Killian grabbed his car keys quickly and put them in between his teeth while he reached for his leather jacket, sliding it on as he exited his and Graham's apartment. Graham usually went to the station earlier than was necessary, and since his car was in for repairs, Killian was giving him a ride to the station. He slid into the driver's seat and ignited the engine with a sigh.

"You took your time," Graham said, buckling his seat belt up.

"Hey, I'm giving you a lift – be grateful. I haven't woken up at this ungodly hour in ages," Killian shot back at him good-naturedly.

"Killian, when have you ever gotten up at this hour before?" Graham asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Killian was about to reply to him when he suddenly realised he couldn't recall a time that he had woken up this early. Strange, he could have sworn he always used to wake up early for something. Brushing it off, Killian gave a small shrug.

"I still don't know why you insist on being in so early," Killian told Graham.

"Actually, today we both need to be in early. I've hired another deputy and it's their first day today," Graham said casually.

"Really? Someone to share the boredom with? Who the hell have you subjected to that torture?" Killian asked.

"Emma."

It took all of Killian's self-control not to slam his foot on the brakes.

"Emma?!" he repeated incredulously.

"Problem?" Graham asked with a raised eyebrow.

 _Besides from the fact I've been trying to keep a respectful distance so that I don't push her into anything and also because I think you might fancy her, no this is perfect,_ Killian thought bitterly.

"Well, it's just… has she had any sort of police experience before? Besides being arrested, I mean," Killian said, deciding that would be the most natural thing to say.

"You have to admit, she helped us out a lot with the David Nolan disappearance. And she's sharp, quick-witted, not afraid to stand up for herself or others…"

"Okay I get it, you're giving her a job not a Nobel Prize," Killian said, not exactly being comfortable with the wistful tone Graham used when he was talking about Emma, even though Killian had been thinking the same thing. He had spent far too much time thinking about Emma recently. "I suppose you're right – she would make a good deputy. It was just a bit of a surprise, that's all." Not technically a lie.

"It was for me, too. I mean, I offered her the job, but you know what she's like, it took some persuading from yours truly for her to even consider it," Graham said. Killian smirked; it definitely sounded like Emma if she needed that amount of persuasion.

"What changed her mind?"

"Something about wanting some roots here or something. She asked if Regina would be okay with it, too."

Killian raised an eyebrow to himself. So this was her statement. Well, she was right; this would royally piss Regina off.

The two officers had arrived at the station about 15 minutes early, so they decided as a joke they would dig out the old uniforms that neither one of them had ever worn just to see the look on Emma's face when she saw them. After sorting through the never ending stacks of paperwork on their desk for a few minutes, they heard the door open and turned to see Emma walking in. Killian picked up the beige uniform and tossed to her, trying his best to stifle a laugh at the priceless expression on her face.

"A tie?" Emma said after a moment, as if that was the most ridiculous thing about the outfit. Killian couldn't take it anymore – he burst out laughing which only caused Graham's façade to fail as well.

Emma simply raised an eyebrow at them both. "You know you don't have to dress a woman as a man to give her authority," she said, throwing the shirt at Graham.

"So you think you can get people to do what you want in that red coat?" Graham asked as he shoved the uniform back in the box where it came from.

"It's a jacket, mate. And she's getting you to do what she wants right now," Killian said, gesturing to the uniform that had now been returned to its box for at least another five years.

Graham rolled his eyes at the pair, while Killian turned to Emma to give her a conspiring wink.

"At least wear the badge," Graham said, holding said badge out to Emma. "Go on. Take it. If you really want to be a part of this community, you have to make it official."

Emma shared a look with Killian, who smiled encouragingly at her. They were both thinking the same thing – this was for Henry. Sure, Emma was doing this for herself too, but primarily it was for Henry, to prove that she was here to stay.

Graham didn't miss the look that was shared between them, and a spike of jealousy rose up within him. Graham wasn't blind – or stupid for that matter – he could see that Killian was besotted with Emma. He hated feeling like this but he just couldn't help it, not when it came to Emma. And with everything that was going on with Regina at the minute, it all just left Graham feeling utterly confused.

Emma tore her gaze away from Killian and reached out to take the badge. The second her fingers brushed the badge, the ground shook and everyone grabbed on to the nearest object. And for Emma and Killian, the nearest object just happened to be each other.

Once the tremor had stopped, Emma and Killian looked at each other, their arms still wrapped around one another. They straightened up, although Killian still left one hand on Emma's arm.

"You alright?" he asked her, his eyes frantically searching hers for any trace of discomfort.

"I'm fine," Emma said, touched at Killian's concern.

A sharp whistle brought them out of their little trance. "Break it up, you two, we have work to do," Graham said, a little sharper than necessary, before he answered the phone that Emma and Killian hadn't even noticed was ringing.

Killian's hand dropped from Emma's arm as she smirked up at him. A sudden pain shot through his left hand and wrist, causing him to hiss in pain and examine his hand.

"You okay?" Emma asked, concern clouding her eyes this time.

"Fine," Killian replied, frowning at his hand as he shook it a bit. "Just an old injury I got when I was younger, it plays up sometimes," he said with a reassuring smile.

"What did you do, jam it in a door?" Emma asked sarcastically.

For the second time that day, Killian found himself unable to reply. "I can't remember," he said, frowning even more.

"Right, thank you," Graham said, cutting off whatever reply Emma was about to give. "One of the old mining tunnels has collapsed. Turns out your first day isn't going to be as boring as we all thought," Graham said, shooting his partners a cheeky smile.

* * *

Emma, Killian and Graham arrived at the old mining tunnel where a crowd appeared to be gathering.

"Everyone step back please," Regina shouted, trying to control said crowd. "Be careful, step back."

Emma rolled her eyes. _You are so loving this chance to boss everyone around._

"Sheriff, deputy, set up a police perimeter. Marco, why don't you help with the fire department? Miss Swan, this is now official town business. You're free to go," Regina said, shooting Emma a look of disdain.

"Well, actually I work for the town now," Emma said, crossing her arms and memorising the exact way Regina's eyes bugged out of her head. Next to her Killian began to cough, but Emma had the sneaking suspicion that it was more of a laugh.

Regina looked at Graham for an explanation, so Emma and Killian took the opportunity to give each other a knowing smirk.

"She's my new deputy," Graham said sheepishly, visibly worried about what Regina's reaction might be.

"They say the mayor's always the last to know," she replied with a raised eyebrow.

"It's in my budget," he defended.

"Indeed. Deputy, why don't you make yourself useful and help with crowd control?" Regina said to Emma, before turning to address the crowd. "People of Storybrooke…"

"Who does she think she is? The president?" Emma muttered to Killian, who gave a quiet chuckle beside her.

"Don't say it so loud, it might shatter the whole illusion that she's kidding herself into believing," he whispered back to her, his lips softly brushing the top of her ear. Emma gave a small shiver at the contact, which didn't go unnoticed by Killian. Smirking to himself, he wandered away to help Graham with the perimeter. Damn deputy, he definitely knew how to get under Emma's skin.

"I'm going to undertake a project to make this area safe," Regina continued. "To rehabilitate it to city use. We will bulldoze it, collapse it, pave it."

"Pave it? But what if there's something down there?" came a voice that Emma immediately recognised as Henry's.

"Henry, what are you doing here?" Regina whispered to him.

"What's down there?" he asked her.

"Nothing. Now step back. In fact everyone please, please step back. Thank you," Regina said.

Something on the ground caught her eye, and she bent down to pick it up. Examining it closely, Regina pocketed it hoping no one would notice. Unfortunately, they did.

"What was that?" Henry whispered to Emma.

"Henry, enough. Listen, this is a safety issue, now wait in the car," she told him. "Deputies, Sheriff, cordon off the area."

A few moments later, Henry, being as stubborn as he was, got out of the car and signalled for Emma, Killian and Archie to meet him.

"This requires all of Operation Cobra, all three of you," Henry whispered.

"I didn't realise I was in Operation Cobra," Archie said.

"Of course you are, you know everything," Henry told him.

"Well, congratulations Archie. Welcome to the team," Killian said with a wink.

"We can't let her do this," Henry said, bringing everyone's attention back to him. "What if there's something down there?"

"They're just some old tunnels," Emma told him.

"That just happen to collapse right after you get here? You're changing things. You're weakening the Curse!"

Emma and Killian shared a look. "That's not what's happening," Emma tried to tell Henry.

"Yes it is! Did you do anything different today? 'Cause something made this happen," Henry told her.

Emma's eyes grew wide as she met Killian's before both pairs travelled to the badge that was on her belt. Unknown to everyone else, as Emma began to touch her belt, Killian subconsciously flexed his left hand, the sharp pain he had experienced now a dull ache.

Suddenly, Regina's ear-splitting voice pierced through everyone's thoughts. "Henry, I told you to wait in the car. Deputies, do your jobs," she barked at them.

Emma and Killian just rolled their eyes and got to work. Archie was just about to walk away when Regina stopped him.

"Dr Hopper, a word please?" she said. Archie turned back and walked towards her. "Okay, we're done with this."

"Uh, excuse me?" Archie asked, confused by her statement.

"My son. We need a new treatment plan. Everything I do he thinks is part of some horrible plot. I can't even cover up a safety hazard without him thinking I'm hiding something. How am I hiding something terrible in an old mine? How is any of this logical to him?"

"He's got an amazing imagination," Archie said, trying to defend Henry.

"Yes, that you let run rampant," Regina shot back at him. Archie really didn't like the tone Regina was taking, implying that her son was crazy. It was obviously the reason she had put Henry into therapy in the first place, and from the beginning Archie had never really liked the idea. Still, now things were becoming a lot more serious, and Dr Hopper feared that the put Regina discouraged Henry from his fantasy, the harder he would cling to it, which would only hurt him in the long-term.

"Well I think it would be wrong to rip away the world he's constructed. I'd rather use it to try and get-"

"Sometimes I think you've forgotten," Regina interrupted. "You work for me. You're an employee and I can fire you. This is my town. You will lose your office, lose your house. I can cut you down to size until you're a tiny, shrunken little creature, and this," she gestured to his umbrella, "will be the only roof over your damn head."

"What would you have me do?" Archie asked, seeing what little choice he had in the matter.

"You take that delusion out of my son's head, and you crush it," she snapped, and she thrust his umbrella back into Archie's hand and walked away.

* * *

The hospital never seemed like a daunting building to Mary Margaret. Of course, it was sometimes filled with sorrow for the death of loved ones, but it was a place where lives were saved. It was one of the reasons she had originally volunteered here; she loved helping people in whatever way she could. But now, standing in front of the hospital entrance, she had never been so nervous in her life.

Yesterday, Killian had found her in Granny's diner and told her that David had requested to see her. At first, her heart had leapt for joy, but the more she thought about the more she realised how silly she was being. David was married, there was no getting around that. And he had amnesia; to take advantage of him not remembering Kathryn would just be wrong. But she couldn't just refuse to see him either – firstly, it would be rude, and secondly, no matter how hard she tried Mary Margaret just couldn't get David out of her head. She had saved his life after all. Gathering her courage, Mary Margaret made her way up to David's room.

She found him sitting in his chair, reading a book. Mary Margaret paused in the doorway, studying the way his brow creased in concentration and how his lips twitched upwards slightly and how his piercing blue eyes were looking directly into hers… Wait a minute. He had caught her staring.

Mary Margaret smiled at him awkwardly, embarrassed that she had been caught staring at him.

"Hi," she said as she walked into the room.

"Hi," David said, returning her smile.

"You look much better," Mary Margaret said conversationally.

"Thanks to you," he said, his gaze never breaking away from hers. "Please, sit down," David said, gesturing to the other chair on the other side of his small table.

Mary Margaret sat down and awkwardly folded her hands on the table top. This encounter was so much different to every other time they had been together, considering those times consisted of David being comatose or nearly dying.

"Mary Margaret, I just wanted to say thank you, properly, for saving me," David said, placing his hands on the table.

"There's no need, I'm sure anyone would have done the same," she replied modestly.

"All the same, I owe you my life. Although, I don't really remember what that consists of at the minute," David said, his smile fading away as he looked down.

By driving instinct, Mary Margaret reached out and clasped one of his hands in hers in an attempt to comfort him. "I'm sure your memories will come back in time, David," she told him with a reassuring smile.

David looked up and gazed into Mary Margaret's eyes as if he was looking at the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. Which he was, really. Of course, Kathryn was a pretty woman, but there was just something about Mary Margaret that was particularly beautiful. Perhaps it was that she was beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. David placed his other hand on top of the one that was resting on his.

"You're a truly incredible person, Mary Margaret. I still don't know how I will ever be able to repay you for your kindness, but I hope that you will at least allow me to attempt it," David said sincerely.

Mary Margaret was speechless. No one had ever said anything like to her before. A soft rosy blush tinged her cheeks as she smiled at him bashfully.

"Would you like to play hangman?" David asked her suddenly. "You don't have to, it's just that… well you're here now, and it can get quite boring being in this hospital all day…"

Mary Margaret giggled at him. "Yes, I would love to play hangman," she told him.

So that's how they were found almost two hours later, giggling like teenagers at the stupid game they were playing, neither of them noticing how much distance they had closed between them, both physically and emotionally. David kept sneaking glances at Mary Margaret whenever she wasn't looking. Killian's words echoed through his mind about making new memories instead of trying to remember his old ones. _Maybe I'll like these better._

"Can I guess, too?" a voice said from behind Mary Margaret.

Mary Margaret looked up and the light in her eyes dimmed, though it was only David who noticed.

"Mrs Nolan. Oh, it's noon already. I didn't realise, I should go," Mary Margaret excused herself, guilt written all over her features.

"Good day, Miss Blanchard," Kathryn said sweetly.

"Goodbye Mary Margaret, thank you for coming," David shouted after her, making her turn round and smile at him despite herself.

"Honey, I brought more pictures. Maybe they'll jog something. It's our old dog, Ajax," Kathryn said, shoving a photo in David's face. But David wasn't concentrating much on the photos, he was just staring dumbly at the door Mary Margaret had walked out of. Killian's words kept haunting him, about making new memories, and David couldn't help but think that the deputy was right. Being with Mary Margaret just then had awakened something within him that he didn't feel when he was with Kathryn. He didn't know if it was love, but whatever it was he knew he needed to feel it again. And he knew he wasn't going to get that with Kathryn.

"Sorry, Kathryn. I just don't remember. I'm trying, really I am, but I just need some time to think things through on my own. Maybe after I'm out of the hospital something will come back, but right now, I just want some time to myself," David said as gently as possible, trying to make Kathryn understand.

"Well, if that's what you need, then of course. I'll leave you to, um, think," she said awkwardly, and she shuffled away with a goodbye smile.

David knew he had done the right thing for now. It wasn't fair to Kathryn to lead her on like that, pretending like he remembered when he didn't. He was telling the truth though, if something did come back then he would tell her, but deep down David knew that his memories would probably never return. And who knows, maybe that would be a good thing.

* * *

"You know, when you said 'deputy', I was expecting a little more action than secretary work," Emma said, finally putting her pen down. Her hand was aching after what seemed like hours of monotonous paperwork.

"Welcome to the life of a small town police department," Graham said, looking up at Emma from his desk to the right of hers.

"What do you guys do to keep you from going insane?"

"See the dartboard up there?" Killian said, pointing up to the wall by way of answering her.

Emma rolled her eyes. "First the donuts and now a dartboard, next you're gonna be bringing me crap coffee and sending me to do a pointless stakeout."

"Well, looks like we're not gonna be doing that tonight – your first shift is over, Emma," Graham said.

Emma glanced at the clock. Graham was right, it was 3 o'clock.

"Thank God for that," Killian said. He got up out of his chair and walked across the room to pick up his leather jacket. He took Emma's down and threw it to her as she was getting up out of her chair.

"A mining tunnel collapsed and you were still bored today? Now who's the one being difficult?" Emma asked him, smirking as she shrugged her jacket on.

"I'm hard man to please, Swan. I look for the best in everything," he told her with a wink, his words causing Emma to blush slightly. "Which is why it's such a bloody mystery I winded up in this job."

"Probably just for the amazing boss you have that lets you knock off early on Mondays," Graham grumbled, not bothering to look up from his papers.

"Ah, that's right. I knew there was a reason I stuck around," Killian said, smiling at Emma as she rolled her eyes at the pair's antics.

"See you tomorrow, Graham," Emma said as she and Killian left the station.

"So, you moved in with Mary Margaret," Killian said as the two fell into step with each other.

"I decided to take your advice. You were right; I think it'll be good for me to have a few people to rely on now and then," Emma told him, looking up at him from under her eyelashes.

"I'm always right, Swan," Killian said, raising one eyebrow at her. Emma scoffed.

"You wish, Jones."

"Have I ever given you cause to doubt me?" he asked her with a light chuckle.

"Not yet," Emma replied quietly.

"No, and I don't intend to, Emma," Killian said, blocking Emma's path by stepping in front of her.

Emma rolled her eyes and tried to side step him, only to be stopped by one of Killian's hands on her arm. His other hand tucked under her chin and lifted her head up so that she would look into his eyes. Emma was pleasantly surprised by how gentle his touch was, contrasting to how physically strong Emma knew he was. He wore tight t-shirts a lot, and she was only human, of course she had taken a look at him once or twice.

"I mean it, Swan. I have no intention of making you doubt me. All I ask is that you don't shut me out," Killian whispered, his blue eyes searching Emma's green eyes for any sign of her retreating behind her walls.

Despite how close she was getting to Killian, and how risky she knew it would be to bring her walls down, Emma smiled at Killian.

"I can't promise anything, Killian. I told you before; relationships, friendships, they never end well for me. But I can promise that I'm trying. And that I like our friendship, and I like my friendship with Mary Margaret, and I absolutely love the relationship I have with Henry. But things like this never last for me. I just don't want to rush into anything full pelt only to hit a brick wall," Emma admitted.

Killian simply smiled at her. "The very fact that you're trying is good enough for me."

He let his hand drop from her chin and instead offered her his arm so that she could loop hers through. Emma rolled her eyes at him, but looped her arm through his nevertheless. They continued on to Emma and Mary Margaret's apartment, just talking and laughing with each other. Emma couldn't remember a time which she had felt so relaxed. It was like with every person she met since Neal she had to keep her walls up, she had to present a certain type of persona. But with Killian, Emma felt that she could just be herself, and she had almost forgotten what that had felt like. She certainly had a long way to go, but Emma was definitely getting there.

"I don't suppose you fancy coming in for some coffee or something? Mary Margaret will be wanting to know all about my first day and I seriously suck at telling stories," Emma said once they had reached her apartment.

"Swan, is this your form of asking me on some kind of date?" Killian said sarcastically.

"Don't push your luck, Jones. It's coffee, with Mary Margaret," Emma said with a raised eyebrow, but smiling at him all the same.

"Worth a shot," Killian shrugged. "Lucky for you, I happen to be a great storyteller."

* * *

"I can't believe one of the old tunnels collapsed! Was anyone hurt?" Mary Margaret asked, her eyes wide after Killian's recount of the events that occurred that morning. Emma, Killian and Mary Margaret were all sitting at the table on Mary Margaret's collection of mis-matched chairs with a mug of steaming cocoa each. Killian was right, he was a pretty good storyteller, though Emma would never admit it to him.

"No, we got there before that much of a crowd showed up and no one was there when it actually collapsed," Emma replied. "I'm surprised you hadn't heard about it until now though," she commented.

"Oh, I've been really busy today," Mary Margaret said evasively, trying to avoid the subject by taking a drink.

"Meaning what exactly?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

Mary Margaret looked at her, guilt written all over her face. She really was a terrible liar. "I was at the hospital today."

"I didn't think you volunteered on Mondays," Emma said, frowning.

"She doesn't," Killian said, flashing a knowing smirk in Mary Margaret's direction. "You went to see him, didn't you?"

"Who?" Emma asked, her eyes darting back and forward.

"Well he asked me to, I could hardly say no," Mary Margaret reasoned.

"Who asked you to?"

"Well, you probably could have said no, it's just a case of you not wanting to say no," Killian teased.

"Am I invisible or something?" Emma asked loudly.

"Well we certainly know you're not mute, Swan," Killian answered, wearing a stupid grin that only further annoyed Emma.

Choosing to ignore him, she continued. "Who did you go to see, Mary Margaret?"

"David," she admitted, casting her gaze down ashamedly.

Emma sighed. She should have known. Now that she was living with Mary Margaret she was noticing a lot more things about the woman, mainly how she had seemed distracted ever since they had rescued David. Emma knew that her friend felt some kind of connection to the man – she had saved his life, something like that doesn't just melt away – but the guy was married, and he had amnesia. Emma was just worried about Mary Margaret, knowing that whatever this was would only upset her further down the line.

"You know not to get involved with a married guy, it's not worth the heartache. Trust me, I watch way too much TV for my own good," Emma said, smiling at Mary Margaret comfortingly.

"I know. It's just I can't shake this connection that we have," Mary Margaret said, turning wistful.

"Ever think maybe it's just because you're the one that saved him?" Killian supplied.

"All the time, but still, today was really confusing."

"How do you mean?" Emma asked.

"Well, we were just talking, and then Kathryn showed up and I just felt like the worst person in the world. Which was ridiculous because I hadn't done anything besides talk to him. So, anyways, I left the hospital but on my way I stopped by to see one of the patients I talk to when I'm doing my rounds. I came outside about five minutes later and I see Kathryn walking away from the hospital not ten minutes after she got there," Mary Margaret answered.

"Well that's rather curious," Killian said.

"Maybe she just had some other things to do," Emma said.

"Her husbands in hospital recovering from a coma and he has amnesia, I don't think there's a lot on her priorities list right now," Mary Margaret pointed out. "Besides, she'd brought a load of photos with her that they could go through to see if he would remember anything."

"Yeah, you're right. That is kinda weird. What's your point though?" Emma asked, not sure where Mary Margaret was going with this.

"The only reason she would leave the hospital is if David asked her to. But why would he ask her to?"

"Mary Margaret, I hate to say this but are you sure you're not just overanalysing things here?" Killian suggested gently. "I know it does seem a rather curious situation, but I would hate for you to get your hopes up just for there to be a perfectly normal explanation for all of this."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Mary Margaret conceded with a sigh.

"Hey," Emma said. She reached her hand across the table and grabbed Mary Margaret's. "We're just trying to look out for you."

Mary Margaret squeezed her hand in return. "I know you guys are," she replied with a smile. Emma and Killian smiled back at her.

A knock on the door interrupted them.

"I'll get it," Emma said.

She pushed her chair back and walked over to the door. When she opened it her stomach dropped and her heart clenched as she took in the sight of a sobbing Henry in front of her.

"Kid, what happened? Come in," she said, pulling Henry towards her into a hug. Henry wrapped his arms around Emma's waist tightly and buried his head into her stomach, his body shaking with sobs. Within another two seconds Killian was beside Emma, concern filling his bright blue eyes.

"Henry, what's wrong?" he asked, crouching down to look at Henry.

Henry turned his head to look at Killian while still remaining attached to Emma. "It… it's Archie. He told me that he doesn't believe in Operation Cobra and that it's damaging for me to believe in it. He said that they might have to lock me away if I'm not careful," Henry said, fighting the sobs that racked his body.

"Hey, kid, listen to me. No one is gonna lock you away, okay? I promise," Emma said, brushing Henry's hair away from his forehead with her fingers.

Killian looked positively murderous that someone had upset Henry this way, but he did a good job of concealing it for Henry's sake. He stood up slowly and inclined his head towards Mary Margaret who was now standing beside the table.

"Mary Margaret, would you be so kind as to make Henry a cup of hot chocolate?" Killian asked her, his voice deathly calm.

"Of course, c'mon Henry," she replied, holding out a hand for Henry to take.

Emma let go of Henry when he moved over to Mary Margaret and walked over to the corner of the loft to speak with Killian.

"That shrink is dead," Killian whispered viciously.

"Killian…"

"No, Emma, I mean it. How dare he speak to Henry like that!"

"Hey," Emma whispered frantically, grabbing his hand in an attempt to calm him. Killian looked down at their hands and Emma saw some of the tension ease out of his shoulders. "You don't think I'm angry, too? I'm furious. In fact, I wanna break his glasses while they're still on his face. But there has got to be some kind of explanation for this. What did you tell Henry when he heard me talking to Regina? There has got to be more to this than what it seems, Killian. Even so, I'm still gonna go over there and give Archie hell."

"I'm coming with you," Killian said immediately.

"No, I can't risk you doing that. You're already wound up enough now and you're not even in the same room as the guy. I understand how you're feeling, really I do, but if you do something that you might regret it will end up hurting Henry," Emma reasoned, her eyes pleading with his.

Killian looked away from Emma's eyes, not wanting to see the reason in them and just wanting to punch Archie straight in the jaw. But his eyes landed on Henry who was staring glumly into his cup of hot cocoa while Mary Margaret's arm was around his shoulders. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Killian had a volatile streak when it came to people hurting Henry, and he probably would end up doing something he would later regret if he went with Emma. He sighed and nodded without looking at Emma.

"Come on, I think he needs us right now," Emma said softly. They both looked up at Henry quietly sniffing across the room and the sight broke their hearts. Archie Hopper had some serious explaining to do.


	9. Chapter 8: Cloudy to Clear

**Hey everyone! So updates might not be as frequent as they have been recently because my internet will be going down for a few days next week so sorry about that. How did you all like the little Captain Swan moments last chapter? I hope you liked them because there's a bit more this chapter. It's not as long but I thought that it would be a good place to end the chapter. And for all you Snowing fans - don't worry, they will be the main focus for the next c** **hapter as this is primarily a Captain Swan story with little moments from other ships. Anyway, I'mma stop rambling and let you read the chapter. R &R please!**

* * *

Chapter 8: Cloudy to Clear

As soon as Emma was out of her apartment she let a scowl cloud her face. It had taken so much control to appear calm and placating towards Henry and Killian that she thought her face my split in half from the effort. But there was no one to put on a show for now, and Emma was furious. Archie had specifically told Emma to be careful about how she spoke about Henry's fantasies when they had first met, and now he had done the exact thing he had told her not to. Emma's anger propelled her forward, allowing her to reach Archie's office in less than five minutes.

"Archie! Archie!" she shouted, banging on the door. Not having the patience to wait and see if he was with a client, she opened the door and barged into the room. "What did you do? You told me not to take the fantasy away, you told me it would devastate him!"

Emma just couldn't see how someone who was supposed to care about Henry so much could do that to him, knowing how much it would upset him.

"When a course of therapy stops working, you adjust it," Archie said, not meeting Emma's burning gaze.

"Is it her? Did she threaten you?" Emma asked immediately, knowing that Regina would have something to do with it. "What could be strong enough to drown out your own conscience?"

"I do not defend my professional decision to you, okay?" Archie burst out.

Emma was just about to reply to tell him that when it concerns her son he does, but her phone began to ring before she got the chance.

"Hello, Madame Mayor. Nice work," Emma said furiously.

"You with him?" Regina asked.

"Yes, I'm with Dr Hopper, and guess what? You left your fingerprints all over him when you-"

"Not him. Henry. Is he with you?" Regina interrupted.

Emma's stomach dropped.

"Killian dropped Henry off at your office an hour ago."

"Well, he's not here," Regina said, her voice hitching as she realised what this meant.

"I don't know where he is," Emma admitted. She heard Archie sigh.

"I do," he told her.

* * *

After Killian had dropped Henry off at Regina's office he drove to the other side of town so that he wouldn't be tempted to pay Dr Hopper a visit. Killian parked his car up near Henry's castle and made his way down to the beach. Normally, Killian was quite laid-back about everything. Nothing ever really phased him. But whenever someone managed to hurt Henry he always felt this burning rage in the pit of his stomach that threatened to consume him. It scared the hell out of him, but he just couldn't help it. He never chanced being around the person who had hurt Henry because he knew he wouldn't be able to control whatever it was that overcame him. That's why he drove as far and as fast as he could to get away from Archie, because Emma was right. There probably was some sort of logical explanation to all of this, but Killian knew that all logic would go out of the window if he saw the doctor.

Killian looked out to the ocean, as if expecting he would find the answers to all of the questions he had. At the minute, the majority of those questions seemed to be centralised around Emma. The deputy sighed and ran a hand over his face tiredly. If he was confused about Emma before, he had no bloody clue now. It was easier when Emma was definitely against the idea of being in a relationship, even just a friendship. Her initial reluctance was what intrigued Killian in the first place, and when he had come to know her better his attraction to her had only grown stronger. Although Killian did want to try and break Emma's walls down, now that it was actually starting to happen he didn't know what to do. Less than two weeks ago, Emma was uncomfortable about the idea of him being a friend to her. Now though… things were definitely changing. Killian couldn't get Emma out of his head, and he could tell that he was having an effect on her, too. He smirked a little at that, his ego inflating just slightly.

He was snapped out of his reverie by his phone ringing. He glanced at the caller ID and smirked.

"Miss me already, Swan?" he answered.

"Killian, you need to meet me right now," Emma said, panic clear in her voice.

"What's wrong, love?" Killian said, becoming deadly serious.

"It's Henry. Regina said that he's not at her office and Archie thinks he might be heading to the mines to get proof for Operation Cobra."

Killian's heart skipped a beat. He could barely breathe. He was completely stunned into silence, like the world had just stopped turning. As soon as it had arrived, the moment passed and Killian snapped into action. "I'll meet you at the mine in fifteen minutes," he said as he was running back to his car and started the engine. He revved the engine up. "Maybe ten."

* * *

"Henry! Henry!" Emma cried, running down the entrance of the mine.

"Henry!" shouted Archie. Pongo rushed passed him, sniffing the entrance. "What you got there, Pongo?" he asked, following him.

"Emma!"

Emma turned round to see Killian running towards her. He came to a stop in front of her.

"I came as fast as I could. You alright?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Emma said unconvincingly, making Killian raise an eyebrow at her. "I don't think he's here," Emma told him, ignoring Killian's expression.

"I think he is," came Archie's voice. Killian and Emma looked up at him to see him holding a candy wrapper up, Emma's expression anxious while Killian's was furious. Before Emma could realise what was happening, Killian stormed passed Emma towards Archie. He grabbed him roughly by the collar, absolutely seething.

"This is your bloody fault, Hopper," Killian growled. "If you hadn't have made Henry feel like he had something to prove he wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Killian, hey!" Emma shouted, pulling Killian away from Archie who was gingerly tugging at his collar. Killian didn't even look at Emma as she stood between him and Archie, his gaze focused intently on the doctor.

"I'm sorry, Killian, Emma. I had no idea he would do something this rash," Archie tried to say.

"Well a lot of bloody use that is now. You should have thought about that before you shattered his world," Killian shot back.

"Enough," Emma said, giving Killian a hard shove to turn his attention away from Archie. He lowered his eyes to meet Emma's and she saw his expression soften slightly. "Arguing isn't going to help Henry now," she said, looking between the two men. Killian gave a sigh, and Emma knew that she had him on side for now.

"This isn't over," Killian said, pointing at Archie before he walked away from him, putting some distance between them. Emma gave an awkward smile to Archie before she walked over to Killian.

"Thank you," Emma said.

"Don't thank me yet, Swan, we still need to get Henry out of there," Killian said tightly, the anger in his voice being replaced by anxiety. Emma was just about to reply when ground shuddered like it had that morning. Dread filled her chest as she and Killian looked at each other for a split second before they both took off running to the entrance.

"Henry!" they screamed over and over again, as if the sounds of his name would make him reappear in front of them.

"Henry!" Archie shouted. "Henry, it's not safe." He stepped further into the entrance.

"Henry!" Killian cried, nearing the entrance as Archie had. Emma looked above the entrance and saw that there was no way it would be able to hold its own weight for much longer.

"Killian, stop!" Emma shouted, grabbing his hand and pulling him away from the entrance.

"Let go of me, Swan!" Killian said, jerking his hand back. Emma ignored him.

"Archie!" she cried. But she was a fraction of a second too late. The ground gave another shake and the entrance collapsed, sealing Archie inside.

"Archie! Henry!"

Emma waited for a reply, but everything was silent save for her own breathing and Killian's.

"Why did you stop me, Swan? I could have reached it in time," Killian said, annoyance filling his voice.

Emma whirled around, frustration boiling up inside of her. "No, you wouldn't have and then you would be stuck in there, too! I couldn't let you do that. It's bad enough Henry is down there but I couldn't have two people I care about trapped in there," she screamed, her eyes brimming with tears.

Killian stood rooted to the spot, absorbing the shock of her words. Then he walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her. Emma's arms came up automatically and wrapped around his waist. She buried her head into his shoulder, breathing in the smell of leather.

"Shh, hey, it's okay, Swan. He's a smart lad, we'll get him back," Killian said, rubbing small circles on her back.

"I can't lose him, Killian. Not when I've only just got him back," Emma said, her tears softly spilling over.

"You won't," he replied with so much sincerity that Emma almost believed him. Almost.

* * *

Within half an hour, half the town had showed up at the entrance to the mine. The fire department was there, and Graham had showed up, along with Marco, Ruby, and Regina. They were all clustered round the entrance of the mine as some workers began to cautiously remove bits of rock and debris to see if they could clear a path. Emma and Killian stood shoulder to shoulder, almost touching, subconsciously seeking comfort from one another as they watched on intently with the hope that Henry will be alright.

"Archie is smart," Marco said, appearing behind the two deputies. "He'll keep the boy safe until we get to them."

Emma suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Archie was Marco's best friend, he must be worried sick. Emma felt as though she hadn't done enough to stop Archie from following Henry compared to how she had physically dragged Killian away from the collapse.

All of a sudden the ground started shaking again. Regina appeared at Emma's side. "Stop! You're making it worse!"

Emma turned to face her. "I am trying to save him. You know why he went down there in the first place, don't you? Because you made him feel like he had something to prove!"

"And why does he think he has anything to prove? Who's encouraging him?"

"Do not put this on me!" Emma yelled.

"Oh please, lecture me until his oxygen runs out," Regina shot back, walking away before anyone could see her cry.

Emma glared after her, fuming, before her vision was blocked by black leather. She looked up and saw Killian raising an eyebrow at her.

"What?"

"Remember what you told me about Archie, Swan?" he asked.

Emma looked away and sighed, knowing that he was right. She looked back up at him and nodded. Killian stepped out of her way and nodded his head in the direction of Regina. Reluctantly, Emma walked over to her.

"We have to stop arguing. We won't accomplish anything," Emma reasoned.

"No, we won't," Regina agreed.

Emma looked up and hoped that this was all a bad dream, not believing what she was about to say. "What do you want me to do?"

Regina looked her in the eye, equally as reluctant about what she was going to ask Emma.

"Help me."

* * *

Back in the mines, Archie was feeling exhausted. The mine dust seemed to stick to their clothes and skin no matter how many times they had tried to brush it off, and it had felt like they'd been walking for hours to find a way out. Of course, now they were following the sound of Pongo's bark so they at least had a little hope.

"It's loudest over here," Archie said, scurrying over to a corner of the mine.

"What's this?" Henry asked as Archie moved a sheet of metal out the way.

"It's like an old elevator to get mine workers in or out," Archie replied. "It goes all the way to the top. That's why we can hear Pongo!"

"Can we make it work?" Henry asked hopefully.

"Let's give it a go," Archie shrugged.

Back outside the mine, everyone was moving back from the entrance after the explosives had been put in place to try and clear the entrance.

"Okay, we're all clear," Emma said. She joined the others as they made their way behind the trucks to take shelter from the blast.

Archie and Henry were trying with all their might to twist the wheel on the elevator, their arms aching from the effort.

Emma joined Killian as she crouched down behind a truck. Her nerves were absolutely shot and she had been unable to keep still since she had found out that Henry was in the mines. Killian grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Emma looked up at him and smiled, squeezing back in appreciation.

Regina looked towards the entrance with grim determination. "Blow it."

Just as Archie and Henry managed to move the elevator slightly, the explosion rang out and they were sent plummeting downwards. Archie grabbed a hold of Henry and held him tight, both of them fearing for their lives. When the elevator came to a halt they looked at each other, relief rolling off them in waves.

Emma ran through the smoke caused by the blast with Killian hot on her heels. She came to a stop when the smoke began to clear and her stomach dropped at the sight of the blocked entrance. Emma and Killian shared an anxious look before they turned back to tell the others.

"Did it work?" Regina asked.

"It didn't open," Emma said regretfully.

"Then what did it do?" Graham asked.

Honestly, no one dared to think about what it could have done. Before anyone could say anything else, Regina took off in the direction of the detonators. Emma ran after her, seeing that she was about to unleash her wrath on whichever unfortunate worker she came across first.

"What was that? What the hell was that? You said you could do this," Regina screamed at them.

"Madame Mayor," Emma said, holding a placating hand out to try and calm her. Probably not the best move.

"They could have killed my son!"

"Yes, but this isn't helping, Regina," Killian said, trying not to let his worry seep into his voice.

"If we knew exactly where they were, we could drill down to them," Marco suggested.

It was then that the sound of Pongo's barking caught Emma's attention. She frowned slightly, and tilted her head to the truck that Pongo was in. Killian was watching her, wondering what she was thinking (when wasn't he, these days?). He turned his gaze away from her to see Pongo in the truck and he realised what she was thinking.

"Maybe. Maybe we can make something to bring them back up," Marco continued.

"A driller," said Graham.

"What do you think we…" Regina began, before she noticed Emma opening the door for Pongo.

"Come on, buddy," Emma said as the Dalmatian bounded out of the truck and began sniffing the ground.

"It's Archie's dog," Killian explained to them.

"He's found something," Emma said, following pongo to the spot where he had settled at. "Look, this is where they must be."

Graham, Marco and Killian removed a large metal covering to reveal a gaping hole blocked off by grates.

"What is that?" Emma asked.

"It's an air shaft," Graham responded. The group looked at each other nervously. This could be it.

* * *

"I'm really, really, really sorry," Henry said, sitting down next to Archie.

"It's alright," Archie said. Killian was right, it was his fault Henry was even down there in the first place.

"I just wanted to find proof," Henry explained, sounding utterly defeated.

"You know, it's really alright, Henry. And um, um, I'm sorry, too. Look, I… I don't think you're crazy. I-I just… I just think you got a very strong mother, who's got a clear idea of a path that she wants you to be on and when you step off that she… she gets scared. And, you know, it's natural. But it's also natural for you to be able to be free to think the things that you want to think. So anyway, I… I didn't mean those things I said and I never should have said them," Archie said, the guilt over what he had done to Henry weighing down on him even more now that he had admitted it.

"Alright, why did you?" Henry asked, his childish curiosity knowing no bounds.

"I guess I'm just not a good person. I'm not the man I wanna be."

"I think you can be him. I think you can be a good person. I mean, you're Jiminy Cricket," Henry reassured him.

"Henry, Henry, Jiminy Cricket was a- he was a cricket, okay? And he was a conscience… and- and I hardly think that's me," Archie insisted, failing once again to understand Henry's reasoning behind all of this.

"But before that, he was a guy who took a long time to figure out the right thing to do," Henry said with a small smile.

Archie paused for a while, taking his words into consideration. "He kinda sounds like me," he eventually admitted.

"Now it's harder for you, because of the curse, to care for the voice inside of you, to be who you wanna be."

The elevator began to shake again.

"Hey, can I ask you again?" Archie said suddenly.

"Ask what?"

"Why do you think it's so important that your… your fairy tale theory is true?"

"I don't know," Henry said, realising that it was important for so many other reasons than what he had previously thought.

"Give it a shot," Archie said encouragingly.

Henry thought for a moment. "'Cause this can't be all there is."

"I understand."

"I thought if I found proof… But I didn't find anything," Henry said dejectedly, his eyes downcast.

"That's not true. I was lost when you found me, right?"

"You mean, you remember?" Henry asked hopefully.

"No, Henry. I- I don't remember. But I- I do remember the kind of person I wanna be. I just got to listen harder," Archie said, smiling at Henry.

* * *

"I've got a harness," Graham announced.

"Lower me down," Regina said immediately.

"Oh, no way, I'm going," Emma said, taking the harness off Graham before Regina could.

"He's my son!"

 _To hell with it, Emma, just admit it._ "He's my son, too."

Everyone looked slightly taken aback by her words, except Killian who just smiled in Emma's direction. "You've been sitting behind a desk for ten years, I can do this," she reasoned.

Regina sighed. "Just bring him to me," she conceded.

She stood back as Emma strapped herself into the harness. Killian walked over to her to make sure everything was secure.

"You sure you don't want me to do this, Swan?" he asked, trying to keep the concern out of his voice.

Emma shot him a defensive look. "What, you don't think I can do it?"

Killian gave a shaky chuckle. "Quite the opposite, I have absolute faith in you," he said, his statement catching Emma off-guard. "Just, promise me you'll be careful," he asked her, not caring that his nonchalant pretence went out the window. He would be a liar if he said he wasn't scared about her not coming back up.

Emma smiled at him and nodded reassuringly before she stepped back and lowered herself down the air shaft.

* * *

Pieces of rock dropping down from the top of the elevator caused Henry and Archie to look up and see a light flashing at them.

"Wh- what's that?" Henry asked, squinting his eyes.

"I think that's the rescue," Archie said with a beaming smile.

"You guys okay?" came Emma's voice.

"Yeah, we're- we're okay," Archie responded.

"Hang on, Henry. Okay, that's good, stop."

"Here you go. Up," Archie said as he passed Henry up to Emma.

"Come on, I gotcha. Okay. Okay, I got him," Emma said, holding Henry in her arms.

"You got him? Is he safe?" Archie asked, making sure he could let go. Just then the elevator gave an almighty shake, the worst one yet.

"Archie?" Emma said, her voice dripping with panic.

"It's going to fall," Archie cried.

"I'm sorry!" Emma told him sincerely, wishing there was so much more she could have done for him.

"It's okay," Archie reassured her.

"Archie!" Emma cried as the elevator dropped.

All hope seemed to have been lost, but Archie had managed to hook his umbrella through Emma's harness. All three of them let out a shaky laugh of relief before they were pulled out of the ground. Emma passed Henry up to Killian's waiting hands as soon as they broke the surface.

Killian lifted Henry up and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, thank God," Killian exclaimed. Henry wrapped his arms round Killian's neck and his legs around his waist and hugged him back with all his might. Killian placed Henry back down and tried to give him a stern look but he was just so bloody relieved he couldn't muster it. "You gave us all one hell of a scare, lad." Henry looked down sheepishly but was swept into Regina's arms before he could respond.

Meanwhile, Graham had helped pull Emma up and Marco had helped Archie out.

"Thanks," Emma said to Graham, who was still holding her hand like she might fall back into the mine.

"Swan!"

Emma barely had time to register Killian's voice before he was hugging her. She smiled and hugged him back, feeling his frantic heartbeat through the cotton of his t-shirt.

"I told you I'd be careful," she said as she pulled back with a cheeky smirk.

"And I told you we'd get him back," Killian replied, relief written all over his face that Henry and Emma were safe.

Graham was left feeling incredibly awkward, and as always, jealous at Killian's interaction with Emma. He had just pulled Emma out of the hole and yet Killian was the one that Emma ended up hugging. Graham wasn't even aware that they were that close; he thought they'd only crossed paths a couple of times. Unless… Maybe they were closer than Graham realised and Killian had just neglected to tell Graham for some reason.

Emma had rushed over to Henry after she and Killian had finished their little… well, whatever it was. "Are you okay, Henry?" Emma asked, reaching to pull him into a hug. The only thing in her way was Regina.

"Deputy, you can clear the crowd away," Regina brushed her off. Emma was about to storm passed her and take Henry away from her, screw her orders, but Killian grabbed her wrist and pulled her back as Regina took Henry away. Emma glanced at him questioningly.

"Later," Killian muttered. "You don't want to cause a scene now and have Regina make something up about how you're smothering him after a traumatic event. We'll catch up to him soon."

Emma nodded in agreement, knowing that Killian was right, and reluctantly walked away to put the harness back. All she wanted to do was hug her son after being so frantic while he was in the mines, and once again she was reminded that he wasn't her son. She had given that right up a long time ago and now she had to live with it. That didn't mean that she wasn't gonna try her hardest to make things better for Henry, and maybe even herself along the way.

* * *

After the excitement of the day had worn off, the crowds began to dwindle until eventually no one was left at the site besides Emma, Henry, Killian, Archie and Marco. The latter two were talking animatedly as Killian approached. Upon noticing him, Marco said something about finding out where Emma had put the harness and excused himself. Killian flashed him a brief smile as he walked passed him, his hands shoved in the pockets of his leather jacket.

"Archie," he nodded. "Look, I just wanted to apologise for how I acted earlier-"

"There's nothing to apologise for, Killian. It was wrong of me to let Regina's threats cloud my professional judgement and my conscience. You had every right to react the way you did," Archie interrupted him.

"That's the thing though. I don't have any right to question you; I'm not Henry's legal guardian and therefore it shouldn't be any of my concern," Killian said, sounding defeated. As much as he tried to kid himself into thinking he had made a difference for Henry, there was no real reason for him to get so worked up about the boy. "It's just… When I see Henry upset… I can't explain it. I just feel so powerless to help him and it makes me so angry."

"That's your protective nature, Killian. Every parent has it," Archie said.

Killian's head shot up. "Parent?"

"You really don't know how much you mean to Henry, do you? He talks about you a lot in our sessions. You're the only father figure he's ever known, and he really looks up to you, Killian. So, while you may not have any legal rights, you are certainly entitled to feel protective about Henry. Because before Emma came along, sometimes I felt like you were the only person that really did have his best interests at heart," Archie told him sincerely.

Killian was speechless. His mouth gaped open trying to form the words but none would come to him. Henry thought of him as a father figure! His heart swelled at the very thought of it – he'd always wanted a son. All these years, he'd never realised that in a way he sort of already did. Killian smiled to himself briefly before he stuck his hand out to Archie.

"Thank you, Archie. For looking after him, and well, for everything else, I suppose," Killian said.

Archie grasped his hand and shook it.

"It's my pleasure, Killian."

* * *

Emma and Henry were watching Archie and Killian's display from the small slope they were sitting on. Every time she looked at him, Emma couldn't help but think of the way Killian's arms had wrapped around her and held her close. She had felt so safe there, safer than she had in years – like she didn't have to have her walls up anymore. But then they broke apart, and reality had snapped back into place like a rubber band. Still, Emma knew that Killian was changing her, and she had a feeling it would be for the better.

"Why are you smiling?" Henry asked her, following her gaze to look in Killian's direction.

"No reason, I'm just happy that you're safe," Emma told him, tearing her gaze away from the deputy. "You know, you really scared me."

"I'm sorry," Henry said sheepishly, looking up at her. Emma heart constricted, and she knew she couldn't stay mad at him. He was her son, and all she cared about at the minute was that he was safe.

"Come on then, we'd better get you home," Emma said, standing up as Archie and Killian approached. She noticed how Killian was grinning like the Cheshire Cat and raised an eyebrow at him in question. He just shook his head at her, telling her that it was nothing.

"Hey! Listen," Henry said. The group fell silent, and everything was quiet save for the chirping of…

"Crickets," Archie said, smiling at Henry as if this was a joke that only they understood.

"Things are changing," Henry said.

"That they are, lad," Killian said, scooping Henry up and putting him on his back in a piggy back lift. The last thing that was heard of that night was Henry's laughter and Killian ran around with him on his back.


	10. Chapter 9: Keeping Secrets

**Hey guys! It's just a fairly short chapter this time but I felt like I had to end it at this specific point. I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who's read this story so far and all of my favourites, follows and reviews. It might not seem like a lot but it's a big deal for me so thank you! Keep your reviews coming, hopefully there will be another chapter posted on Saturday but exams and stuff so I make no promises. But I gave you two chapters in two days so hopefully that makes up for it.**

* * *

Chapter 9: Keeping Secrets

David was walking arm in arm with Kathryn towards Granny's, happy to finally walk the streets again instead of being cooped up in the hospital. Kathryn had wanted to take him home to have a big celebration of his return, but David had managed to talk her out of it. He didn't feel comfortable socialising with people he didn't know in a house that wasn't his home. He had yet to broach the subject of staying at the inn to Kathryn, quite frankly he was dreading it, but he knew he couldn't stay with her. It wasn't fair to give her false hope for the return of the memories he knew in his heart were never coming back.

Thankfully, when they opened the door to the diner it was fairly quiet, there was only about six people in there. Kathryn led David to one of the booths and ordered two coffees for them.

"So, how does it feel to finally be out of the hospital?" Kathryn asked him. She refrained from reaching for his hand across the table, knowing that he was still requesting his space.

"It's amazing, I feel like a new man after being out of there," he said happily.

Kathryn's smile faltered slightly. He _was_ a new man – he wasn't _her_ David anymore. She could tell she was losing him, and she didn't know what to do. She wouldn't force him to stay with her, if he wanted to go she would let him. Maybe that was for the best, anyway.

"I don't suppose you remember this diner at all?" she asked.

David gave her a sad smile and she nodded her head. She had expected as much.

"Well, I can tell you that Granny's has the best hamburgers in Maine. Once you taste them you'll never forget about them again," Kathryn told him, trying to lighten the mood.

"One thing I'm definitely pleased about is not having to eat anymore hospital food," David replied to her.

They ordered their burgers and sat making small talk while they waited for their food. David really did like Kathryn, but he knew that he didn't feel any romantic attachment to her. He hated it, especially since he had been married to the woman. She had dedicated so much time to him over the past few weeks, and he felt awful for not feeling the same way about her. He had tried to fall back in love with her, but every time he thought about it his mind conjured up an image of black hair in a pixie cut and a gentle smile, not Kathryn's long blonde hair. He and Kathryn lapsed into a comfortable silence when their food arrived, and David's mind wandered to the last time he had seen Mary Margaret…

 _David had seen Mary Margaret just about to leave the hospital and heard himself calling for her before he even registered what he was doing. It was just an impulse he had to stop her and talk to her. He knew she felt guilty over getting close to him when Kathryn had arrived; she'd been avoiding him the last three times she'd been in the hospital. He wouldn't deny that he'd missed her, but seeing her eyes light up as she saw him made it all worthwhile._

" _Where you going?" he asked her, before he mentally kicked himself._ Well, that was stupid David. Where do you think she's going? Timbuktu?

" _Home. I'm done for the day. Shouldn't you be resting?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow._

" _Actually, Dr. Whale asked me to start physical therapy. I'm supposed to walk thirty minutes a day on a treadmill or outside with an escort but they're kinda short on personnel because of that thing that happened in the mine," David explained._

" _Oh," Mary Margaret, said knowing where he was going with this._

" _So… Maybe if there was a volunteer willing to help…"_

 _She smiled at him and his breath caught in his throat. She had a beautiful smile that could light up any room. He offered her his arm and she giggled as she slid her own through his, relishing in the warm he provided._

 _It was a beautiful say outside. The sun was shining but there was just a hint of a breeze so it wasn't too hot. They remained arm in arm as they engaged in light conversation while they walked the hospital grounds._

" _I try to remember this place," David said as they walked. "It's like… it's like I woke up in some strange land."_

" _Is there anything coming back?" Mary Margaret asked sympathetically. David shook his head. "What about when you're with Kathryn? She brought those photos in the other day. Did you remember anything when you were with her then?"_

 _David noticed the way her voice tightened as she mentioned Kathryn, and it was then that he was sure he wasn't alone in the strange feelings he was experiencing._

" _I looked through the photos, but nothing came back. And actually, Kathryn wasn't with me when I looked at them."_

" _Really?" Mary Margaret asked, feigning surprise. She already knew Kathryn wasn't with him, she'd seen her outside of the hospital only about five minutes after she arrived._

" _I asked her to give me some space. I know she's trying – I'm trying, too," David said, causing Mary Margaret's face to fall. It didn't go unnoticed by him. "But I don't love her. She's so lovely, and I don't want to disappoint her. And maybe I am being selfish, but I can't pretend that I feel something for her when I don't feel anything at all. None of it feels real."_

 _Mary Margaret looked up at him, understanding shining in her eyes. "That sounds so lonely."_

" _Actually, one thing does feel real…" David said, gathering up the courage to tell her. "You."_

 _Mary Margaret stopped walking and turned to face him. "What?" she asked, her mouth gaping open slightly._

" _I know it sounds crazy, but I swear, you're the only thing in this whole place that feels right," David explained, reaching for one of her hands with both of his and holding it up between them._

 _Mary Margaret beamed at him, completely overjoyed. Then Killian's words echoed in her head, causing her to sober up._

" _Are you sure that's not just because I'm the one that found you?"_

" _You may have found me, and for that I am eternally grateful. But gratitude did not influence whatever feelings I have for you, Mary Margaret," David assured her._

" _What about Kathryn? You're married, David," Mary Margaret said, thinking of every possible obstacle they had so as to not give herself false hope._

" _Kathryn is an amazing woman, and I am so thankful for everything she's done for me. But it's not fair to either of us for me to go on living a life that was never truly mine. She deserves better than a guy who can't even remember her, and even if I did we were already having marriage problems. She deserves to be happy, and I know that I can't make her happy like that."_

 _Mary Margaret looked him in the eye, deciding if he was truly sincere. She found no trace of a lie within his bright blue irises, and she could have jumped for joy._

" _Still, it wouldn't be fair to her to go behind her back either. I have to admit, I feel the same way, David," she replied, making David's heart soar. She felt the same! "But we have to wait until you tell her first. And even then, this is all so rushed. Maybe we should wait until you're out of the hospital and see where things lead us," Mary Margaret reasoned._

 _David didn't want to wait, he wanted to scoop her up in his arms and kiss her until they were both starved of breath, but he saw her reasoning. He was just so happy that she felt the same, and for once, things were finally starting to fall into place..._

David looked up at Kathryn once their plates had been taken away and he knew that this was the moment to tell her.

"Kathryn…"

"I know what you're going to say, David. You're not sure about going back home," she said with a sad smile.

David was taken aback, and it must have shown because Kathryn started to chuckle.

"You've always been like an open book to me. Although recently you've been a little harder to read. I guess you're right; you are a new man now."

"It's not fair on either of us for me to pretend, Kathryn," David said.

"I know. We both deserve better," Kathryn nodded. "I still love you, David, and I think a part of me always will. But we both know that this is the right thing to do."

"You have been so good to me over the past few weeks, Kathryn, and I am truly thankful. And you deserve someone who will truly love you rather than someone who is trying to remember how to love you," David told her, trying to make his words sound less harsh than they actually were. But Kathryn seemed to understand.

"You know, a few months after you left, I was beginning to get my life back on track. I never forgot about you, but things were… I dunno, easier," she admitted sheepishly. "I was happy once I had gotten over the thought that you had left me. I was never ready to start dating again – we were still technically married – but I had started to realise that maybe the end of our marriage might not be the end of the world. A fresh start for both of us. And then I found you in the hospital, and all of the old feeling just hit me like a wave. I had so many questions that I desperately wanted to know the answer to. But now… I think it's best that I let go of the questions. I'll probably never know the answers anyway."

David nodded at her, not at all hurt by her confession. The old David Nolan might have been, but this David Nolan was just happy that Kathryn had accepted the fact that they were both better off.

"Hey, at least we can say we tried," David said with an easy smile.

"That we can," Kathryn said returning his smile. "I hope we stay friends, David."

"I do, too. You take care of yourself, Kathryn."

"You too," she replied as she got up from the booth. "And David?" she said before she left the diner. "If any of your memories do come back and you wanna talk, you know where to find me," she said with a smile before she departed the diner.

David smiled to himself and got up to see Granny at the counter about getting a room.

* * *

Mary Margaret had always felt comfortable with her height, not exactly too small that she was dwarfed by everyone else but not too tall so that she stuck out when she didn't want to. Now, however, she really wished she was a couple of inches taller. Stretching on her tiptoes as she tried to hang the bird box on the tree, she heard a voice from behind her.

"Need a hand?"

Mary Margaret turned her head to look over her shoulder and smiled. "David."

He walked up to the tree and helped Mary Margaret down from her step ladder before taking the bird box off her. "Here," he said, as he attached the bird box to the tree easily.

Mary Margaret smiled. "How's things now that you're out of hospital? I would have stopped by your house to check in but I thought it would be… inappropriate with Kathryn being there, what with everything we talked about…" she tailed off, wringing her hands nervously.

"You wouldn't have found me there anyway. I'm staying at Granny's for the minute," David told her, smiling at her flustered expression.

"You are?" Mary Margaret asked, not bothering to hide the smile that spread across her face.

"Kathryn and I came to a mutual agreement about our marriage; turns out she was thinking along the same lines I was," David said, smiling at Marry Margaret's reaction.

"I'm happy that you both came out of that for the better," Mary Margaret said, though a little bit of remaining guilt niggled at the back of her mind. "She is happy though, right?"

"Yes. She said she would like to remain friends and that she wishes me all the best."

"David, that's excellent," Mary Margaret exclaimed. Before she had time to think she threw her arms around his neck and embraced him as tightly as she could. David hugged her back, his big arms enveloping around her small frame as he gave a light chuckle. That seemed to bring Mary Margaret back down to Earth and she pulled back reluctantly, a blush creepy up her neck.

"I'm sorry, that was very forward of me, I should have…"

"Mary Margaret, how would you like to go on a date with me sometime?" David interrupted, not minding in the slightest that she had hugged him. After all, he had been wanted to do the same thing for a very long time.

"I'd love to," Mary Margaret said genuinely, smiling so much her face threatened to split in half.

* * *

It was a relatively normal day at the Sheriff Station, which meant that it was worse than watching paint dry. Of course, none of the officers minded too much, the company provided some entertainment. It had been almost a month since Emma had started working there but Graham and Killian felt like she had always been a part of the team. They all just got on so well together, despite the occasional friction between Killian and Graham that Emma never seemed to notice. And if she did notice it, she just brushed it off as lads' banter, the thought never occurring to her that it may have something to do with her.

Today was no exception; paperwork, laughing, paperwork, ganging up on Graham, paperwork, ganging up on Killian, paperwork, lunch. Speaking of, Graham had just returned with their lunch and a box of… No, it couldn't be. The sheriff walked over to stand in front of Emma's desk and popped the box open. Oh, but it was.

"As Killian has already said, some of the clichés are true," Graham smirked, holding the box of donuts in both hands.

"Okay. What do you want?" Emma asked sceptically. Killian snorted softly at her bluntness without looking up from his work to see Graham glaring at him. Ignoring him, Graham continued.

"Remember when I said no night shifts? I need you to work tonight. Just this once."

"Why?" Emma whined.

"I volunteer at an animal shelter and the supervisor is sick. Someone needs to feed the dogs," Graham explained.

Killian rolled his eyes. He had been wondering how long it would be before he pulled the animal shelter card with Emma. Women always fell for that one.

"Very lucky you bought a bear claw," Emma said, caving under Graham's puppy eyes.

"Oi, Humbert! Where's my bear claw?" Killian asked.

"You already work nights. You'll have to make do with an original glazed," Graham said, passing him the box over.

"Oh well, that's just favouritism," Killian complained sarcastically, causing Emma to grin and shake her head. The sound of footsteps heading to the office made all three of them look up and see Mary Margaret rushing in.

"Emma, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked.

Emma looked to the two male officers who both made their (frankly quite lame) excuses and left the two women alone. As soon as they had gone, Mary Margaret practically exploded.

"He left his wife! David! He left her! He left Kathryn!" Mary Margaret blurted out, speaking so fast Emma struggled to catch up with her.

"Okay, slow down," Emma said, trying to calm her friend down.

"He showed up earlier today and asked me on a date. Said that he and Kathryn had a mutual acceptance of their marriage breakdown. I said yes to the date but now I'm wondering if I really did the right thing. I mean, it was his choice to leave her but they had barely been separated for two days and I've already agreed to go out with him. What if she thinks I stole him? Everyone would hate me for it, especially Kathryn and she's so nice and I don't wanna hurt anyone…"

"Mary Margaret!" Emma interrupted loudly, stopping her friend so she could take a breath. "Calm down. I know you might feel a little guilty about this but that's just because of who you are as a person. You would feel guilty for scrubbing the dishes too hard with a Brillopad," Emma said sarcastically, causing her friend to blush. "If they've both accepted that their marriage is not meant to be then you have no reason to feel guilty. That has nothing to do with you; that was their choice and their choice alone. And if David has already asked you out then he must be ready to start dating. Besides, he's hasn't asked you to marry him. It's just a date, and I think you'd be a fool not to go out with a guy who has tried so hard to be with you," Emma reasoned.

Her friend sighed, and then smiled at Emma. "I guess you're right," she conceded. "I just wish you would listen to your own advice."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, confused.

"Killian?" Mary Margaret prompted. Emma rolled her eyes. "I know you have these walls, Emma, but like you said – it's one date with a guy who has been waiting a month since asking you."

Emma thought about her words. She would be pretty bad at giving advice if she couldn't even take her own. Besides, Emma wasn't going to deny that she was happier around Killian. She knew her walls were coming down bit by bit.

"I'll think about it," Emma said. Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow at Emma. "Okay, one date," she sighed, causing Mary Margaret to clap her hands together. "But not just yet, okay? Maybe in another couple of weeks. I just… don't think I'm there yet," Emma admitted.

"I'm sure you'll be there soon, Emma," Mary Margaret said, grabbing Emma's hand and giving it a squeeze. "I have to dash, but I'll see you later."

"See ya," Emma called to her friend, smiling to herself. She was really happy for Mary Margaret; someone as nice as she deserved to be that happy. And maybe Emma deserved to be that happy, too.

* * *

Graham was in his office while Emma and Mary Margaret were discussing things, while Killian had said he was going to check the supply cupboard. He was rarely in his office, preferring to be in the main department with Killian and now Emma, so it was a bit of a mess. While being secluded off from the rest of the room, the office wasn't completely soundproof. However, Graham thought that it would do for the time being. That was until Mary Margaret had gotten excited about Emma's love-life.

"I just wish you'd take your own advice," she had said.

"What do you mean?"

"Killian?"

Graham had tried not to pay attention, he really did, but as soon as his roommate's name was mentioned he couldn't help it.

"…it's one date with a guy who has been waiting a month since asking you."

What? Killian had asked Emma out a month ago and didn't even tell him? Graham frowned to himself. He felt jealous, obviously, but there was something else. Anger? Hurt? No, it wasn't either of those. It was betrayal. His best friend, the man who he lived with and thought of as a brother had kept this secret about Emma from him for an entire month!

 _You had kept your secret about Regina from him for God knows how long,_ a voice said inside Graham's head, but he willed it to be quiet. It wasn't the same as him and Regina. Wasn't it? Graham wasn't sure what to think anymore. He shouldn't need to think anything about it! Killian was right, these bloody women would be the death of him. His love-life was screwed up enough anyway. Why involve Emma? But maybe Killian had only discouraged Graham from any relationships because he wanted Emma for himself…

No, of course not. Killian would never do that. He believed in good form, and was probably only protecting Emma. He probably didn't tell Graham about his affection for her because he could tell that Graham himself liked Emma. But he still couldn't get this niggling feeling out of his mind that Killian had gone behind his back.

Graham shook the thought out of his head and focused on what he was doing. He would be seeing Regina tonight so maybe that would clear his head a bit. Yes, he was seeing Regina, and Emma was covering his shift. With Killian. His stomach began to tie itself in knots over that thought. Suddenly he really regretted getting Emma to cover for him.

* * *

Killian arrived back at the station with two coffees in his hands. He walked around the corner and saw Emma glancing at some papers in her lap with her feet on the desk. A smile tugged at his lips when he saw her. Since Henry had gotten lost down the mines Emma and Killian had become a lot closer. It was like Henry was a catalyst for them both, and all of a sudden they were taking lunch breaks together, they had little inside jokes with each other, and they flirted non-stop. Well, they'd always taken part in a bit of harmless flirting, but adding it to everything else that had been going on, it was starting to become less harmless than either of them had realised.

"One coffee," Killian said as placed her cup down on her desk.

"You're the best," Emma said by way of thanks before she took a grateful sip of the warm caffeinated liquid.

"It has been said," he replied. Emma rolled her eyes at him.

"So, what do we do on a night shift? And if you dare say stakeout I swear, I will leave you to do this shift on your own," Emma threatened.

Killian chuckled at her. "No, it's more just a late night patrol and manning the phones. And you wouldn't leave, you'd miss me too much," Killian said cheekily.

"What makes you think that?" Emma shot back.

 _Well, well, Swan. Are you flirting?_

"Because I'm devilishly handsome and unbelievably charming," Killian replied, not wanting to scare Emma off with a blunt response of how her feelings for him were changing.

"I thought we'd already established that David was Prince Charming, not you," Emma replied.

"Touché, Swan," Killian smirked, raising his cup to her before he took a drink. "Well, it's almost ten o'clock so we'd best go on patrol now."

Killian was driving the car while Emma found a radio station that wasn't awful. Graham always had some crappy 80s disco station on, which cracked Emma and Killian up. They were so going to bring that up tomorrow. The two had lapsed into comfortable conversation while they drove round on patrol, so Killian immediately perked up when Emma abruptly stopped talking. He had barely finished pulling the car up before Emma jumped out of the car. Killian quickly followed, realising they were outside of Regina's house.

"Emma, what is it?" Killian whispered as he followed her.

"I think I saw someone climbing out the window of Regina's house," she replied.

Killian's eyes widened as he realised what was going on. How could he have been so stupid?

"Emma, wait…"

But it was too late, Emma had already clobbered the guy sneaking out of Regina's house. Killian scrunched his face up as he saw his friend get up sheepishly and face Emma.

"This is volunteering?" she asked incredulously.

"Plans changed," Graham lied pathetically. "Regina needed me to – "

"Sleep with her?" Emma interrupted.

"No."

"Then why were you sneaking out the window?"

Busted.

Graham sighed, defeated. "Because she didn't want Henry to know."

Emma and Killian's eyes widened. "You did this with Henry in the house?" Emma asked in disbelief.

"He's asleep, he doesn't know," Graham defended.

"Oh my God. I wish I was Henry right now. This is disgusting," Emma said, backing away from him.

"I really do work at an animal shelter."

Killian almost laughed at that one. He had just made a complete arse out of himself and he was still trying to pull the animal shelter card.

"You can finish my shift. I'm done working nights," Emma said, shoving the car keys to Graham before she stormed off back to the station.

Killian shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at his friend, disappointment filling his eyes.

"Bad form, mate," he said, and then he turned around and followed Emma back to the station, leaving Graham alone in the street.

* * *

Once they had gotten back to the station, Emma had calmed down a bit. She explained to Killian that she was only mad because she and Graham were supposed to be friends and he'd kept this from her. And also the fact that they'd had sex while Henry was in the house. Killian told her that he was in the same boat until recently, but he had no idea that Henry was in the house. Secretly, he was happy Emma was mad at Graham for that, because it meant that she wasn't bothered at all that he was actually sleeping with someone else. But he quickly shoved that feeling down. It was bad form to celebrate at a friend's misfortune.

Killian had said a quick goodnight to Emma and they left the station about five minutes later to go home. Killian was still awake thinking about Emma when Graham came in from his shift.

Killian turned his head from his seat on the couch to look at his friend. Graham looked more tired than Killian had ever seen him. His hair was dishevelled like he'd ran his hands through it a million times and he had dark circles around his eyes. He knew Graham was suffering from nightmares at the minute, but he'd only just now realised what a toll they had taken on him. Graham spotted Killian watching him and sighed.

"Don't even start, Jones," Graham said, really not in the mood for a lecture.

"I don't know what you want me to say, Graham. I thought you were ending things with Regina?" Killian asked.

"Why do you care about me and Regina?" Graham snapped suddenly.

"What do you mean why do I care? You're like a brother to me, of course I care."

"Really? Because last I checked, brothers don't keep secrets from each other!"

"What, like you did with Regina?" Killian said, standing up from his place on the couch.

"At least I told you about that eventually. Were you ever planning on telling me that you'd asked Emma out on a date?" Graham blurted out.

Killian took a step back as thought Graham's words has physically knocked him.

"How do you know about that?" Killian asked.

"It doesn't matter how I know, Killian. It only matters why you didn't tell me in the first place," Graham shouted.

"Because you obviously wanted to get in there first," Killian shouted back, matching Graham's volume. "Though I have no idea why since you already have Regina. But you just couldn't get enough, could you? The bitch of a mayor obviously wasn't enough for you," Killian ranted. It was like a dam had exploded; he had been holding back his jealousy towards Graham's affection for Emma for so long.

"Don't make this out like I meant for this to happen, Killian," Graham said.

"What, you think I did? The woman is driving me insane! I can't do anything about my affection for her because I'm constantly walking on eggshells around you in case I hurt your oh-so delicate feelings!" Killian shot back, gesturing animatedly. "I have been trying to help you with everything that's going on with Regina, but you decided to fuck this one up, Graham. You were the one who decided to sleep with one while trying to get off with the other because you were too afraid to leave Regina. The only reason you want to be with Emma is because you don't want to be with Regina anymore and you're just too scared to admit it."

Graham was quiet for a long time, regarding his friend with no emotion, letting his words sink in. The silence of the house was eerie after their intense shouting match. Killian shook his head.

"You know what, screw this. You wanna fool around with both, be my guest. But after that little stunt tonight, let's just see which one of us Emma has trouble looking in the eye," Killian said tightly. The deputy turned around and stalked out of the room, leaving Graham alone for the second time that night.


	11. Chapter 10: Aftermath

**Hey guys, I am so sorry that this update has taken forever. Really, I am. I've had so much work on with my last few exams a couple of weeks ago, and also my grandma has just come out of hospital from this major operation so I've been spending loads of time looking after her. Also, I just found this chapter really difficult to write for some reason, probably because we all know what's coming next (no, Graham!) and for me, I really hated that character death. Anyway, the chapter is here now, it shouldn't be too long for the next chapter (hopefully) because this is only part 1 of the episode and I don't really like to stop writing half way through one episode. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, once again I'm sorry about the delay but it just can't be helped. Keep reviewing! ~WG**

* * *

Chapter 10: Aftermath

In the dream, Graham felt at home. He was in the woods, but they weren't Storybrooke's woods. These woods were denser and greener, and the air smelled of rainy days and recently drenched leaves. Beside him was a white wolf with the most amazing eyes; one regular and one a crimson red. He was not afraid, however. Instead he opted to stroke the wolf that sat beside him rather than bolt in the other direction. Graham felt himself smile as the wolf nestled closer to him under his touch, its coarse fur warming his hand.

Suddenly the dream shifted, and it was no longer a wolf sitting beside him, but Emma. She wore her golden hair in natural waves cascading down her shoulders, with two sections at front tied back to keep it out of her face. Her flowing white dress seemed unnatural for the forest setting, and Graham suddenly worried that she would spoil it with the mossy log they were sitting on. But his words escaped him when Emma smiled. It was a smile that held all of what he valued most; compassion, loyalty, reassurance, friendship. It was not dissimilar to how he felt in the wolf's presence earlier. Graham returned her smile, not one of love or lust, but one of gratitude for the comfort she brought him in his solitude.

The dream shifted once more, only this time Graham and Emma were standing on opposite sides of a stone wall that came to about waist height. He didn't like it; it made him feel trapped even though he could have easily climbed over it. Just as he placed a hand on the wall, a cold emptiness filled his chest and crippled him from within, pulling him backwards from the wall. Just as soon as it had begun, the pain subsided and Graham turned around to see what had caused it. Behind him stood Regina in a long-sleeved, velvet black dress with diamonds adorning the hem and plunging neckline. Her raven hair was piled on top of her head in an elegant up-do and her makeup was intensely dramatic. She had never looked more beautiful – or more terrifying.

Regina's lip curled upward in a malicious smile and Graham wanted to turn back to see Emma's gentle smile again, to feel the comfort spread through his limbs like sunshine radiating on his skin on a warm day. But when he tried to turn it felt like he was moving through treacle, like every movement took monumental effort. Before he had even turned half way, Regina's hand contracted around a pulsing red light and the iciness spread through Graham's chest once more. With every squeeze of Regina's fist, the pain flared up again, and Graham was pulled further away from the wall as it was built higher and higher. Eventually when he had finally managed to turn around, all that was left of Emma before she finally vanished from view was a single tear appearing at the corner of her pale green eyes…

Graham woke up to the sound of the front door slamming, the sheets drenched in cold sweat. He realised he was still shaking and took a deep breath to steady his nerves. Sitting up slowly, he ran a hand through his soaked hair and glanced at his alarm clock. It was 8:30 A.M. That explained why he heard the door slamming; Killian must have set out for work by now. Killian…

Suddenly all of the memories from the previous night came rushing back to Graham like a speeding truck. His messy excuses with Emma, his own confused feelings about Regina, his argument with Killian…

When did his life become so complicated? Before Emma, everything was normal and safe and good and… monotonous and boring and never-changing. Something had always been missing for Graham and he had never known what it was until Emma came along. Usually, Graham didn't believe in omens or signs, but if the weird dream he had last night was anything to go by, it was that Regina was poisoning him, and he would have to get out of… whatever this was before it was too late.

* * *

It was Emma's turn to buy breakfast today so she walked into the station with two brown paper bags and two coffee cups from Granny's. As she rounded the corner, her face fell as she paused in the doorway.

Killian was sat in his chair with his feet on his desk as usual, but instead of looking up aimlessly at the ceiling while swinging in his chair, his hands were clasped in his lap and his eyes were downcast. He was biting the inside of his cheek, too, something Emma noticed he only ever did when he was worried or anxious about something. Emma walked over to him and sat on the edge of his desk. Killian glanced up at her as if he'd only just noticed her when she was three feet away from him. His eyes were bloodshot and they had dark circles underneath them. This really wasn't good.

"You look like you could do with this," Emma said, handing him his coffee. "Everything okay?" she asked as he took it gratefully.

"Fine, why wouldn't it be?" Killian replied with a smile plastered on his face.

Emma raised an eyebrow at him. Killian sighed and lowered his feet to place his elbows on his desk with his coffee cup in his hands.

"I didn't get much sleep last night," Killian admitted.

"Go on," Emma encouraged, sensing that there was more to his current state than just not getting enough sleep.

Killian looked at the coffee cup in his hands like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. "I had an argument with Graham."

Emma stiffened slightly at the mention of Graham. The G word seemed to be a taboo word after last night.

"What about? I thought you already knew about the Regina thing."

"I did. I just hadn't given him a proper lecture about it. I knew that it was a secret, I just didn't know that the secret involved so much sneaking around until last night. It was bad form on his part," Killian responded, which was technically all true. He didn't want to tell Emma that they were arguing over her because he knew that she would blame herself. And if he was being honest with himself, Killian was afraid that if Emma knew how Graham felt about her then it would open up a lot more doors for her than just his promise of one date.

"Well, it's a good job today's his day off. Maybe things would have cooled down by the time you get home. And even if they haven't he'll probably just say at Regina's," Emma said with an eye roll.

"Hint of jealousy there, Swan?" Killian asked, trying to cover up his worry with sarcasm. Of course, Emma saw right through it.

"You know that I don't feel about Graham in that way," she reassured him with a smile. "He's just a friend. A good friend."

 _If only you knew how much he wanted to change your mind on that one, Swan._

"Besides," Emma continued. "I've already promised a date to another guy. I do have some class, you know," Emma said with a wink. She hopped down off Killian's desk and placed a hand on his shoulder as she walked out of the room to check the supply cupboard for some more stationery for her desk.

She had already left the room before Killian had really registered what she had said so Emma didn't see the beaming smile that spread across his face as his eyes flicked across to the doorway she had just exited through.

* * *

Graham was so thankful today was his day off, he didn't think he would be able to face going in to work today. Not just because of the bitter disappointment he knew he would have to deal with from Emma, but because of his and Killian's argument, too. It was eating away at him. In all the time they'd known each other, Graham couldn't remember a time where he and Killian had argued properly.

He desperately needed to clear his head so he'd spent his entire afternoon at Granny's throwing darts at a picture of a deer, as if every perfect hit was puncturing one of his problems. Of course, his game of darts was accompanied by a few glasses of scotch.

"Nice shot, chief," came Sidney's voice. "Bet you twenty bucks you can't do it again."

Graham raised an eyebrow at him before he turned back to the dartboard and effortlessly threw the dart so that it landed smack in the middle of the deer. Sidney's smirk dropped from his face as Graham turned to Ruby.

"Next round's on him."

The tinkling of the bell above Granny's door sounded but Graham didn't pay much attention to it; people had been going in and out of Granny's all day. That was until Ruby spoke up.

"Emma, what can I get you?"

Graham whirled around in time to see Emma's face fall as her eyes landed on him. It crushed him to see her look at him like that, her eyes so full of disappointment and… was there a hint of anger there?

"Nothing," Emma replied, her eyes never leaving Graham. She turned to leave the diner and before he could stop his impulsive reactions, Graham's frustration got the better of him, and he launched a dart at the wall, mere inches from Emma's head.

Emma's eyes widened as she turned to stare at the dart beside her and realised how it had got there.

"What the hell?! You could have hit me!" Emma exclaimed.

Graham walked over to her and shrugged nonchalantly. "I never miss. You've been avoiding me since last night, when you saw me…"

"Leaving the Mayor? And yes, that is a euphemism," Emma interrupted. Graham had the decency to look sheepish at that.

"I'm not avoiding you, Graham. I just have no interest in having this conversation. It's your life – I really don't care," Emma said stubbornly, though it wasn't at all true. Graham was a good friend to her, and it crushed her to feel like he didn't trust her. Because that meant that she couldn't trust him. She had just begun to start trusting a few people again, and one of those few was Graham. Emma really couldn't afford to lose any of the few friends she had. However, being as proud and as stubborn as she was, Emma left the diner, not wanting to have to face Graham just yet.

He clearly didn't get the message though, and followed her onto the sidewalk.

"If you don't care then why are you so upset?" Graham shouted after her.

"I'm not upset," Emma insisted, walking away from Graham at a fast pace.

"If that were true you'd be at the bar with me having a drink, not running away."

Emma stopped and turned to face him. "It's not of my business, really," Emma sighed.

"Look, can we please talk about this? I need you to understand," Graham pleaded.

"Why?" Emma asked.

Graham looked stumped at that one. "I don't know," he admitted, scratching behind his ear nervously. "Maybe so I can understand?"

"If you need an analysis, go talk to Archie. Or better yet, go talk to Killian. You know, you're supposed best friend that you've been avoiding all day because of that stupid fight you guys had yesterday," Emma said exasperatedly.

The colour drained from Graham's face.

"He… he told you about that?" Graham asked incredulously. That must mean that Emma knew how Graham felt. Maybe that's why she was angry with him.

"Yeah, and you should do both of you a favour and talk it out with him. He'd never admit it but you guys fighting is affecting him more than he would ever let on, and I know that it's affecting you, too."

"He doesn't want to speak to me right now, I thought you would have understood that given our fight yesterday!"

"Look, neither of us like the fact that you were sneaking around with Regina of all people, but you guys can get over a stupid little secret like this. You're better than that, both of you," Emma shot back.

Graham frowned at her. "Are we talking about the same thing?" he asked suddenly.

Emma frowned back. "I think so. I'm talking about the argument you and Killian had yesterday about you and Regina, what are you talking about?" Emma asked, her arms folding across her chest.

"This," Graham replied, and he moved in closer to Emma and placed his lips on hers.

As soon their lips touched, Graham's eyes shot open, but he wasn't seeing what was in front of him. Instead he saw the same white wolf from his dream the previous night, its one red eye glinting wickedly in the moonlight.

The surprise that took hold of Emma was what made the kiss go on for longer than it should have, even though it only lasted a couple of seconds. It wasn't that Graham was a bad kisser, he was quite the opposite. The way his lips slanted across hers and the pressure that portrayed his desperation should have made any girl swoon and melt into the kiss. But for Emma it was all just so wrong. The kiss that should have been perfect wasn't, because the man in front of her didn't have jet black hair that she could curl her fingers into, and the lips that were kissing her didn't curl up into a devilishly handsome smirk that never failed to make her smile. Graham was like a brother of sorts to her, and Emma found herself breathless when she finally broke away, but not in a good way.

"What the hell was that?" she shouted.

Graham blinked rapidly for a few seconds before he focused on her. "Did you see that?" he asked, sounding confused.

"How much have you been drinking? That was way over the line."

This seemed to bring Graham back to reality. "I'm sorry. I thought you knew."

"Knew what, Graham?" Emma asked furiously.

"How I feel about you, Emma!"

Emma's face fell as she was stunned into silence. Graham raised an eyebrow at her shocked expression.

"Killian didn't tell you what else we argued about, did he?" Graham asked.

"What else did you guys argue about?" Emma asked, already knowing the answer.

Graham took a step closer to her and tucked a bit of her hair behind her ear, similarly to the action Killian had done when he told her she didn't have to fight Regina alone.

"You, Emma," Graham whispered softly. "You've just changed everything since you arrived here. I know it, Killian knows it. That's what we were arguing about. When I'm with Regina, I don't feel anything. But with you…"

Emma grabbed his wrist and pushed his hand away, taking a step back from him. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves as Graham's expression turned wounded, something Emma really didn't want to do. But it would have been so much crueller not to set him straight.

"Listen to me, Graham. You are drunk, and full of regret. I get it. But whatever it is you are looking to feel, I can tell you one thing," Emma said as she let go of his wrist and took another step back. "You're not getting it with me."

Emma pursed her lips as Graham floundered for the words to make her stay, but before he could find any she turned and walked back to her apartment as quickly as her legs could carry her.

* * *

Killian had been brooding in the sheriff station all day. Even Emma couldn't make him smile as much as she normally did, though Killian knew she was trying her best. They didn't speak about Graham any more that day at Killian's request, but he knew Emma wanted to. She had tried encouraging him to talk to the sheriff when they had discussed him that morning, but Killian was too stubborn for his own good at times. Still, he knew that this couldn't continue. They may have only argued last night, but Killian had felt like he had been losing his best friend – his brother – for weeks now. And he would be lying if he said he didn't miss him.

Killian knew today was slow and that he wasn't being very good company for Emma so he sent her home early. Deciding that she was right, he picked up his jacket as he left the station to buy some donuts for Graham as a peace offering in case he came in for the nightshift. It wasn't much but he knew Graham would appreciate them.

Pulling his jacket on, Killian walked down the steps of the station and turned the corner to see Emma and Graham talking outside of Granny's. He was just about to walk back into the station to give them some privacy before he was rooted to the spot as the pair began to kiss.

Killian's blood felt like it had turned to ice within his veins. His fists clenched and his eyes widened as he stared at them in disbelief for what seemed like a lifetime. Once he got over his initial shock, he sidestepped back behind the corner and leaned against the hard brick wall. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, opening them again when his head hit the wall. Suddenly, Killian remembered Emma's promise to him earlier that she and Graham were just friends and he mentally berated himself for even thinking that this meant more than it did. It was probably just some huge misunderstanding. He peeked around the corner again to see if they were kissing.

Well, they weren't kissing, but this sight was possibly even worse. Graham was tucking a loose strand of Emma's hair behind her ear tenderly, imitating what he had done all those weeks ago. The worst thing was that Emma didn't even finch, unlike she did with Killian. She didn't pull back or avert her eyes, she just looked straight at Graham.

Killian couldn't torture himself any longer. He ran back up the steps of the sheriff station and tugged his jacket off, throwing it at his desk and causing a large pile of papers to go flying. He slumped down in his chair and placed his elbows upon the desk, his chin resting in his hands. Then he sighed, and silently began to pick the papers up off the floor; the picture of utter defeat.

* * *

Graham felt as though he'd had no choice but to go to Regina that night. He was just so confused after his and Emma's conversation, their kiss, the vision… Also, on top of all that he had no doubt Emma probably would have told Killian about their kiss by now and Graham really wasn't in the mood for that conversation.

He had tried not to let the vision play on his mind so much but he just couldn't get it out of his head. It was always the same wolf, the one with the red eye. It meant something, Graham was sure of it, he just didn't know what. And then there was the kiss with Emma. His suspicions had been right, he had definitely felt _something_ with Emma when he kissed her. Whether that was love… everything was just so confusing for him at the minute.

He needed something to take his mind off the mess he was in – and Regina was the perfect distraction. Or at least she was, until Graham fell asleep.

The dream was so vivid, even more so than the previous night. The forest seemed even greener, even denser, but he knew it was the same forest. Graham flexed his fingers, releasing the arrow from his bow, and watched it sail through the air before it sunk into a deer that bore a remarkable resemblance to the one he was throwing darts at earlier that day. He felt his heart sink as he walked towards the fallen deer and stared at it with remorse, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

Graham knelt down by the creature. "You have died so that I may live. Forgive me. Your sacrifice is honourable. I thank you," he recited, his voice full of sorrow and regret.

The bark of a wolf caught his attention and his head snapped up to see the familiar white wolf staring down at him from a ledge.

"Don't worry, boy," Graham sniffed as the wolf came closer, its crimson eye glinting at him. "You won't go hungry tonight."

Without a second thought, Graham grasped the arrow and pulled it out of the deer in one swift motion, jolting him awake. He bolted upright, his body dripping with cold sweat and his chest heaving. His reaction had been so violent that it had even woken Regina up next to him.

"What is it?" she asked sleepily.

"I had the most intense dream," Graham panted. "I was in the woods hunting and I killed a deer. There was a wolf..."

"A wolf?" Regina repeated warily.

"Its eyes – one was blood red and the other was black as night. The funny thing is, I think I've seen the wolf before."

Regina placed a placating hand on his clammy shoulder. "Come back to sleep, Graham. It was only a dream."

"It didn't feel like a dream – it felt like a memory," Graham said persistently. He brushed her hand away and got out of the bed to get dressed.

"Graham?"

"I need some air. I need to think," he shot back at Regina.

"Graham, please." The sheriff looked up to see the mayor smiling coyly at him. "Come back to bed."

"I left my car, anyway. I need to go and get it. Clear my head," he muttered, ignoring her.

"Graham, listen. It's late, you're tired, you're probably still drunk. Don't leave."

And just like that it was like a switch had been flicked. Regina had never once cared about his wellbeing or how he was feeling or any of that. She just used him. Killian and Emma though; they did care about him. How could Graham have been so blind to all of this before?

"Since when do you want me to stay, anyway?" he asked her venomously.

"You're not well," Regina replied, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm fine."

Graham picked up his jacket and left as quickly as he could while keeping his movements silent, something he'd never noticed he'd been able to do before, but something which seemed almost second nature to him.

* * *

The first thing Emma saw when she came down to the kitchen was the bunch of flowers on the table. She twisted her nose at them, knowing they would be some kind of attempt on Graham's part to try and get back into her good books. Surely he knew her well enough to know that she didn't do the whole flowers thing?

"Really?" she asked herself. Shaking her head, she picked the flowers up and dumped them into the trash.

"Oh! Hey, wait! What are you doing?" Mary Margaret asked, surprise filling her voice.

"If Graham thinks flowers will work on me…" Emma began.

"No, those… were mine," Mary Margaret said awkwardly.

"Oh," Emma gaped, feeling guilty.

"David and I went on our first date last night, he dropped them off this morning," Mary Margaret explained.

"That's great!" Emma smiled, trying to brush over the fact she'd just thrown the flowers in the bin. "So, you guys are serious?"

"Well, I wouldn't say serious just yet. But I think that we could be," Mary Margaret smiled, fiddling nervously with her hands.

"I'm happy for you," Emma told her friend sincerely. "One night stands are as far as I ever used to go."

"Used to?" Mary Margaret asked, raising an eyebrow at Emma. She pulled out a chair for her, indicating the blonde to sit down as she grabbed a plate of biscuits for the two of them.

Emma sighed as she sat down. "Yeah, I've got a feeling that's gonna change after my first date with Killian."

"You agreed to go on the date then?" Mary Margaret asked excitedly.

"I agreed to go on a date with him over a month ago, remember?"

"So you guys aren't any further along yet?" the teacher inquired.

Emma opened her mouth, trying to find the right thing to say. "I think it'll happen sometime soon, if nothing disastrous happens. I just… don't want to lose what Killian and I have if things turn out badly. Or what Graham and I have for that matter."

"Yes, why did you think those flowers were from Graham? I thought you guys were just friends."

"We are," Emma sighed. "He, apparently, wants us to be more though."

Mary Margaret's eyes widened. "Does Killian know this?"

Emma nodded. "They had this huge fight about it a couple of days ago. You should have seen Killian at work yesterday, he was completely miserable. He told me that they'd argued, he just didn't tell me that I was what they were arguing about," Emma said, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, I wish he'd told me. At least I would have been more prepared for when I saw Graham yesterday."

"What happened when you saw Graham?" Mary Margaret wondered, frowning at Emma.

"I told him that he and Killian should talk things through, thinking that they were fighting over something else. Graham obviously thought that I was talking about his feelings for me and assumed that I reciprocated them and…"

"And…?" Mary Margaret said.

"He kissed me," Emma winced. The dark haired teacher's jaw almost hit the table.

"Oh my God. Are you going to tell Killian?"

"Of course I am! It's not like I've cheated on him. First off, we're not even a thing, and secondly, I don't feel about Graham that way. It was just a misunderstanding," Emma told her.

Mary Margaret reached across the table to grab Emma's hand. "I'm sure everything will work out between you guys. Killian and Graham have been friends for as long as anyone in Storybrooke can remember, not a lot can come between them."

Emma smiled sadly at her roommate. "But apparently I can."

"Don't blame yourself, Emma. This is not your fault." With one last squeeze of Emma's hand, Mary Margaret stood up and took the remaining biscuits back into the kitchen.

Once she had gone, Emma's face fell. Mary Margaret had tried to reassure Emma that the two officers would work things out, but all she had done was make Emma feel worse.

* * *

The bell had just rang and Mary Margaret was putting some books back on the desk when she heard someone's voice from behind her.

"Mary Margaret?" Graham said. The teacher turned round to look at him. His usual cool and collected demeanour had been replaced by a rather dishevelled look. His hair was out of place and his collar wasn't done properly. The dark circles under his eyes were more prominent than any time she'd ever seen him. He looked awful, and Mary Margaret had a feeling that it was so much more than just what Emma had told her this morning.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked her, his usual steady Irish lilt shaking slightly.

"Graham? What's the matter? Are you okay?" she responded.

"I think we, uh… I think we know each other," he told her uncertainly.

Mary Margaret smiled at him sympathetically and waked over to him. "Of course we do."

"No, no, no. Not from here. Not from Storybrooke," he said ominously.

"From where, then?"

"Another life."

Mary Margaret didn't bother hiding her surprise. "Why don't you sit down with me, Graham?" she asked him, settling in to one of the desks.

"I'd prefer to stand, thank you," Graham replied. He didn't really trust himself around Mary Margaret anymore, not after he saw himself in the woods about to stab her. It was somehow all connected to that damn wolf, the one that he'd been seeing in his dreams that had mysteriously appeared in from of him and led him into the forest. Graham was so close to breaking point but he needed to figure this out… whatever _this_ was.

"Mary Margaret, how long have we known each other?" he asked her suddenly.

His question seemed to catch the teacher off-guard. "Um… I don't know. A while," she answered.

"Do you remember when we met?"

Mary Margaret thought about it for a second and frowned when she couldn't bring an answer to mind. "Um… no."

"Me neither. I can't remember when I met you, or when I met anyone. Isn't that odd?" Graham asked, sliding into a desk next to her.

"I don't know. I mean, I suppose. But, I think that's just life. Things get hazy," she told him, though truth be told she didn't really mean it. Surely some moments in your life have to stick out at some point.

"Have I ever hurt you?" Graham asked, as if he was almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Oh, Graham. No, of course not. What is going on?" she begged him, seriously beginning to worry about him now. He looked like he was having some kind of nervous breakdown.

"Do you believe in other lives?" Graham continued, avoiding her question.

"Like heaven?"

"I mean like past lives."

Suddenly it clicked. "You've been talking to Henry," Mary Margaret realised.

"Henry?"

"Well, he has this book of stories. He's been going on about how he thinks we're all characters from them. From another land. We've forgotten who we really are," Mary Margaret explained. "Which, of course, makes no sense," she quickly added, seeing how Graham was analysing the situation.

Graham quickly jerked out of his glazed over state. "Right. No, of course."

"Graham. Ah, you are burning up!" Mary Margaret exclaimed, leaning over to feel his forehead. "Go home and get some rest. I think you'll feel much better after you've had some sleep."

"Right. You're absolutely right. I'm sorry to disturb you. I thank you," Graham blurted out. He got up and swiftly walked to the door, knowing that he was definitely not going home.

"Of course," Mary Margaret called after him. As soon as he'd left she went over to her bag and got her phone out. She had to ring Emma.


	12. Chapter 11: Brothers In Arms

**Hey everyone! I know I suck at updates, I don't really have any other excuse except that I was procrastinating a lot over this chapter (for obvious reasons) and I'm sorry. I'd like to say that updates would be faster now but I've learned that I make promises I can't keep so it'll be sometime in the near future. Probably within the month. Anyway, this chapter was a mammoth to write, and extremely difficult to get to grips with. I hope I've gotten all the little bits of character development right but like I say, it's a difficult chapter. It's also an emotional chapter because I'm evil like that. Anyway, I hope you enjoy in a morbid sort of way. Give me a review if you like it! ~WG**

* * *

Chapter 11: Brothers In Arms

Emma approached the sheriff station feeling unusually apprehensive the next morning. Graham was supposed to be at work today, and though she doubted the sheriff would show up, Emma was still reeling from the events that occurred yesterday. Another thing that made her wary that morning was the conversation she knew she would have with Killian. She had to talk to him about his and Graham's argument which was an uncomfortable topic for him anyway, but then she had to broach the subject of her kiss with Graham, and no matter how well she explained herself she knew Killian would be pissed initially.

Deciding that the best course of action would just be to get it over with, Emma ploughed through the doors to the station and walked straight to the main office.

Killian was in early, already sipping at his coffee while doing some paperwork.

"Ah, Swan," he greeted as he heard Emma approach the main area. "About time you got here, we have mountains of paperwork, as usual." Killian swivelled round in his chair to look at Emma, a smile that was clearly fake plastered on his face, making his voice seem strained.

"We need to talk," Emma said bluntly, all tact going out the window.

Instead of his usual sarcastic remark, Killian just sighed and nodded. "Aye, that we do," he said.

Emma walked over to his desk and sat on it, similarly to how she did yesterday. Killian opened his mouth to speak but Emma cut him off before he could get a word out, knowing that if she didn't speak first she probably wouldn't speak at all.

"Why didn't you tell me that I was the reason that you and Graham argued?" she asked, her eyes downcast. After a beat of silence Emma chanced a glance up at Killian, only to see that he wasn't as surprised as she thought he would be at her direct question.

"I should have guessed that he'd told you about that," he muttered under his breath, his arms coming to fold across his chest as he leaned back in his chair. "Because I didn't want you to blame yourself for our misery, Swan. There, are you happy?" he shot at her.

"What makes you think you have the right to decide what I should and shouldn't know? I am not five-years-old, Killian," Emma retaliated.

"I'm right though, aren't I?" Killian asked as he sat forward in his chair. "You are blaming yourself even though it's not your fault."

"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. _You know_ I can take care of myself! There has got to be more than one reason why you didn't tell me!" Emma inquired, her voice raising in volume as she became more irate. "I can tell you're hiding something from me."

Killian's frown deepened as she ranted at him, but as she said that he finally stood up from his chair, the vein at the side of his head jumping at the effort of trying to keep his temper in check.

"No, it's not the only reason, Emma. The main reason is that I was afraid, okay? I was afraid that once you realised how Graham felt about you, you wouldn't want anything to do with me," Killian shouted.

Emma's eyes widened. How could he think that? Other than Henry, Killian was the only thing that occupied her thoughts day in and day out. Why on Earth would he think that Emma would feel anything for Graham like that when she had specifically told him that she didn't only yesterday?

Emma opened her mouth to tell him all of this but this time Killian cut her off before she could say anything.

"It seems as though I had reason to be afraid, too. While we're on the topic of hiding things, Emma, why don't you tell me about the more-than-friendly encounter you had with Graham yesterday outside of Granny's?"

Emma's stomach hit the floor. He had seen them. Killian had seen her and Graham kissing.

"You saw that?" Emma whispered obviously, feeling that it was all she could ask. Everything she had prepared to tell him was completely useless now that he already knew.

Killian looked down slightly, his volume dropping dramatically. "I'd gone out to pick some donuts up for Graham in case he decided to come in for the nightshift. I saw you talking to him and was about to leave to give you two some privacy when you started kissing. I didn't see much, but I saw enough," Killian told her, feeling utterly defeated now that the anger had drained out of him. The deputy took a step back from Emma, noticing that there was barely a foot between them and began to pace the room.

"Killian," Emma said quietly.

"I know that I didn't have a right to keep that from you," Killian continued, not hearing Emma.

"Killian," Emma said again, a little louder this time.

"And that I can't control your feelings because they're your feelings…"

"Killian."

"And that I am utterly selfish when it comes to you Emma…"

"KILLIAN," Emma shouted, finally getting up from her spot on Killian's desk and moving to where the deputy was standing.

He finally gave her his attention as she stood in front of him and placed her hands on either side of his face to get him to look at her. They felt cool and soothing on his skin.

"You say that you saw enough, but you clearly didn't," Emma said softly. "Graham kissed me, not the other way round. I pulled away from that kiss as soon as a realised what was happening. I'll admit it went on longer than I wanted, I mean, I didn't want it to happen at all, but I was too shocked to stop it from happening all together," Emma implored, her green eyes boring into his blue ones.

Killian's eyes flicked between Emma's, his lips slightly parted as he searched for any trace of deceit, already knowing that he wouldn't find any. With anyone else Killian would have been wary, but with Emma he knew she wouldn't lie to him. He felt immensely guilty for even thinking she would do something like that.

"You mean, you don't feel anything for Graham?" he asked her.

Emma smiled softly at him. "Graham's a friend, that's all."

"So he forced himself on you?" Killian asked, his eyes flashing dangerously for a second. Now that he understood that there was no reason to lose hope over Emma, his anger towards Graham was back. The man was supposed to be his best friend, his brother, and he felt betrayed by him.

"No, nothing like that," Emma reassured him. "Graham is in a really bad place at the moment; he's confused and irritable and lonely. Honestly, I think his feelings for me aren't really feelings at all, I think he's just looking for a way out of whatever situation he's in. He just needs a bit help, that's all. And now that we're all on the same page, I think we'll be able to give it to him," Emma said, smiling at Killian.

Killian smiled back at her, before he really took in how close they were standing. Emma's thumbs were grazing his cheeks, and his hands had come up to hold her waist without him even realising, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Emma seemed to be thinking the same thing as him and Killian saw her eyes flick towards his lips. Killian wasn't sure who leaned in first, it didn't really matter in hindsight, because just before their lips met Emma's phone went off.

Emma pursed her lips for a second before she dropped her hands and turned back to answer her phone. Killian sighed and closed his eyes for a second. He could have punched the wall with how frustrated he was. Whoever was on the other end of the phone better have a bloody good reason for ringing Emma.

"Yeah, we'll go check now," Emma said, turning back round to face Killian. The deputy sobered up once he saw how Emma had paled slightly. "Thanks, Mary Margaret."

"Swan?" Killian asked once Emma had hung up.

"That was Mary Margaret. She said something is seriously wrong with Graham, that he was having some sort of mental break," Emma said worriedly.

Killian's eyes widened. Maybe he had been so worried about this whole situation with Emma that they were too late to help Graham, even though Killian had promised himself that his friend would be his top priority weeks ago.

"Where is he?" Killian asked.

"Mary Margaret thinks he might be at Henry's house."

* * *

Graham walked up the long pathway to the house he had visited so many times but for a very different reason. Though today he had felt more nervous when he knocked on the door than any other time he could remember. The door opened to reveal Henry and his gap-tooth smile.

"Hey, Sheriff. My mom's not here," Henry greeted, immediately reminding Graham that he needed to stay away from Regina.

"Actually, uh, I'm here to see you, Henry. I was hoping you could help me," Graham told him.

"Help you with what?" Henry asked, confused.

"It's about your book. Am I… in it?"

* * *

Graham was sitting on Henry's bed with him string at an illustration of a deer in Henry's book. The subtle similarities of the picture and his dreams were uncanny, from the deep green hue of the trees to the startled expression of the deer.

"When did your flashes begin?" Henry asked eagerly, excited to finally have someone who really believed him about the curse.

"Uh, right after I kissed Emma," Graham blurted out.

"You kissed my mom?" Henry said, thoroughly grossed out.

 _Oh, Henry, if only you knew,_ Graham thought, the guilt weighing down on him as he looked at Henry.

"What did you see?" Henry continued.

"A wolf. I saw that I had a knife in my hand and I was with Mary Margaret."

"Were you about to hurt her?" Henry asked animatedly.

Graham's eyes widened. "Yes! How do you know that?"

"Because Mary Margaret is Snow White. Which makes you the Huntsman," Henry explained flipping to a page that showed a man holding a knife over his face.

"So, you really think I could be another person?" Graham said, bewildered.

"Makes total sense," Henry said, in the way young children do when they have total faith in something. "You were raised by wolves – that's why you keep seeing one. It's your friend – your guide. It's trying to help you."

Graham still seemed confused and his frown deepened. "I'm remembering this because I kissed your mother? H-how is this possible?"

"Well, you two do have a special connection," Henry said.

 _Apparently not,_ Graham though bitterly.

"She owes you her life," Henry continued.

"Why?"

"Snow White's her mother and you spared her. If you hadn't, my mom wouldn't have been born."

"What happened after I spared Snow White?" Graham asked. The rational part of his mind couldn't believe he was looking for serious advice from a ten-year-old, but another part wondered if maybe this was the reason he felt so empty.

"The Queen took your heart," Henry replied, looking forlorn. "She ripped it out. It's kinda her thing. She never wanted you to be able to feel again."

Suddenly, everything clicked into place for Graham, like a jigsaw puzzle. He didn't exactly remember, but those flashes, the feeling – or lack of – of emptiness, it all made sense. More sense than any other explanation he could think of. Suddenly it wasn't about Emma anymore, it wasn't about Killian or Regina or even the curse. It was just about Graham.

"Let me see that book," he said, reaching over to Henry. As the sheriff scrutinised the pages he saw a familiar symbol in the background of a picture of the Evil Queen.

"What's that?" Graham asked, pointing at the symbol. "I saw that, too. The wolf was howling at it."

"That's her vault. It's where she put your heart."

Graham nodded, finally feeling like he understood for once.

"The wolf wants me to find it. Thank you, Henry."

Graham got up rom Henry's bed after his rushed thanks, and swiftly exited the room, practically galloping down the stairs on his quest to find his heart.

* * *

The car ride over from the station to the Mayor's house wasn't exactly long, but Emma had wished it was even shorter. The tension inside her yellow bug was so thick you could have sliced through it with a knife. Between Killian and herself, there was enough worry about Graham without the added awkwardness of their would-be kiss. Emma had been seriously annoyed with Mary Margaret in that moment because for the first time in a long time, her walls had finally been completely down with nothing to hold her back, and as soon as her phone rang they had flown back up. And it had felt good to have her walls down, better than she would have expected. But now she was struggling to lower them once more, and that frustrated her to no end. She could tell Killian was frustrated, too, having finally had the opportunity to see her without her walls and having it ripped away from him in the most casual of manners.

However irritated they were at Mary Margaret's call, they were glad she had told them about Graham. They could deal with their… situation later – Graham was top priority for both of them at the minute. After Killian had a minute to calm down, his anger towards Graham subsided, and he began to understand that his brother was struggling. Emma could see that he felt guilty about it, that he was being selfish, but the whole situation had snuck up on the both of them and there was nothing they could have done. She just hoped Killian wouldn't let it weigh on him.

As Emma parked up outside Regina's house, Graham was coming out the gate. Killian was out of the car before Emma had even stopped it properly. Emma quickly jumped out the car to stop Killian blurting something out that he might regret.

"Hey, hear you're having a rough day," she said, approaching the sheriff.

"Who says?" Graham replied, eyeing Killian to up to judge if there would be another heated confrontation. He had no doubts that Emma would have told Killian about their kiss, and he knew that his flatmate would not be happy with him right now.

"Pretty much everyone," Killian replied, giving his friend a sympathetic smile. Graham's shoulders seemed to sag with relief a bit when he realised Killian was being amicable with him.

"I think maybe you need to go home and get some rest," Emma chipped in, placing a hand lightly on Graham's arm.

"I'm fine," Graham said, taking a step back.

"No, mate, you're not fine," Killian said. "You've just been to see a ten-year-old for help," he continued, gesturing to the house they were standing beside.

"He's the only one who's making any sense," Graham replied.

Emma and Killian shared a look with each other.

"What's going on? What's really going on?" Emma asked gently, biting at her lip. Killian's eyes were fixed intently on Graham's, searching for any clue as to what was wrong with his friend. Breaking eye contact with Killian, Graham responded to Emma.

"It's my heart, Emma. I need to find it."

Killian blinked for a moment before opening his mouth, only to have Emma cut him off once more. She couldn't have him blurting something insensitive out when Graham was clearly in a delicate state of mind, no matter how good his intentions were.

"Okay. So, how are you going to do that?" Emma asked.

"I just need to follow the wolf," Graham told them, as though it should be obvious.

"What? What wolf?" Killian piped up.

"From my dreams. It's going to help me find my heart."

"I'm sorry, I thought we were talking metaphorically here. You really think you don't have a heart?" Killian asked, now becoming immensely concerned.

"It's the only thing that makes any sense. It's the only thing that explains why I don't feel anything," Graham answered.

"Listen to me, Graham," Killian said, placing a hand on the sheriff's shoulder. "You have a heart, mate. We can prove it."

Emma nodded and moved forward, tucking her hand into Graham's waistcoat to feel his heart beat.

"See? It's beating," Emma said, smiling gently.

Graham shook his head and the sight made Killian's gut twist into knots. How could he be so blind as to how far gone his friend had become?

"Feel that? That is your heart," Emma said, still trying to reason with Graham.

"No. It's the curse," Graham insisted.

"You can't really believe that's true, mate," Killian implored, gripping onto Graham's arm to try and make him see sense. This was breaking his heart and he felt like he couldn't do anything about it. Emma grabbed his attention by her fingers digging into Killian's arms, causing him to look in the direction she was staring at. Killian's eyes widened at the sight.

"What?" Graham asked, turning around to see what they were staring at. The white wolf was waiting for him at the end of the road, unmoving. Graham took off after the wolf, leaving Emma and Killian with no choice but to follow him.

* * *

The trio entered the graveyard as they pursued the only flash of white amongst the growing darkness of Storybrooke.

"Graham! Graham, be careful," Emma reminded him in a hushed tone.

"He's my friend. He won't hurt us," Graham replied with conviction. He took a few more tentative steps towards the wolf while Emma and Killian hung back.

"What the hell is going on, Emma?" Killian whispered to her, all the while keeping a watchful eye on Graham.

Emma turned to look up at him. He was biting the inside of his cheek again, and barely blinking as he watched Graham so intently. It hurt to see Killian so distraught over Graham.

"I don't know. But I do know that this is not your fault, Killian. You didn't cause this," Emma said, reaching for his hand subconsciously.

Killian looked down at her with a haggard expression, but before he could say anything, the wolf began to howl, snapping their attention away from each other. The wolf began to run further into the graveyard, and the three were running after it once more.

When they had lost sight of the wolf, they came to stand outside a large family crypt. The three studied the grey building in front of them with foreboding. It had walls of cold stone, and large oak doors that seemed ancient. What grabbed Graham's attention the mot, was the circular bronze crest that adorned the centre of the crypt's roof.

Emma noticed the way Graham stared up at the crest, as if everything else was irrelevant.

"What is it?" she asked him.

"It's my heart. It's in there," Graham answered breathlessly. "I have to look in there," he said, pulling out a flashlight.

"Woah, mate, just calm down," Killian said, making to grab Graham's wrist.

"I have to get in there, please!"

"Graham, come one! You really think your heart is in there?" Killian shouted, desperate to try and knock some sense into the sheriff.

Graham simply nodded at Killian, who in turn began to bite his cheek once more. Giving Emma a look before he caved, he nodded at Graham.

"Okay. Let's find out," he sighed.

Emma walked up the steps to the large oak doors and pulled on them. "Come on," she said in frustration.

"Emma, maybe I should…"

Before Killian had finished his sentence Emma had kicked the doors in and they burst open.

"Then again, maybe not," Killian said, raising his eyebrows at her.

The second the door was open Graham pushed past the both of them and rushed to the shelves to search for his missing heart. If the outside of the crypt was creepy, it was nothing compared to the ominous sarcophagus that was the central feature of the room. It didn't have a single scratch on it, as though it was either brand new or preserved somehow. Emma didn't know which one disturbed her more. Graham didn't seem to be bothered by it though; he had already scrambled through half of the urns that were placed neatly upon the shelves.

"It's got to be in here. Somewhere," he said.

Emma and Killian looked at each other sadly across the sarcophagus.

"There's got to be a hidden door. A lever. Something!"

Emma raised her eyebrows at Killian who nodded at her, knowing what she needed to do. Killian turned his back and ran his hand over his face as Emma walked over to Graham.

"Graham. Hey, Graham. There's nothing here," Emma said carefully, placing a hand on his arm.

Graham looked at her hopelessly, his brown eyes seeming empty. "There has to be. If there isn't then…"

"It's okay. It's going to be okay," Emma reassured him. If only she could reassure Killian at the same time. She could see how this was affecting him, and she didn't know how to help him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" a voice yelled from outside. Of course it would be Regina.

The trio exited the crypt, looking confused at Regina's sudden appearance.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked.

"Bringing flowers to my father's grave like I do every Wednesday," she told them defensively, looking Emma up and down.

"Don't blame them," Graham piped up. "It's my fault. I wanted to go in there."

"Really? Why? What were you looking for?" Regina asked, her tone changing almost immediately.

Graham felt like he was being examined under a microscope by Regina. "Nothing. It was, uh… It was nothing."

"You don't look well, dear," Regina said.

"Yeah, wonder why that is," Killian muttered through gritted teeth. He was absolutely seething to see the woman that had put Graham in this state.

Regina shot him a look but didn't say anything. "Let's get you home," she said, reaching out to pull Graham by the arm.

Graham pulled away from her, protesting as he did. "Regina, I… I don't want to go home. Not with you."

"Oh?" she responded, her voice turning dangerous. "But you'll go home with her. Even when she already has another officer on her arm?"

"Hey, this is between you two – leave me out of it," Emma said coolly, not liking what Regina was implying.

"She's right – it's between us. And things have to change," Graham said.

"And I wonder why that is all of a sudden," Regina replied.

"It has nothing to do with her. You know, I've realised that I don't feel anything, Regina. And I know now it's not me – it's you," Graham said bluntly.

"So you're leaving me for her?" Regina said through crocodile tears.

"I'm leaving you for me."

Despite everything that was going on, Killian smiled at his friend. He was finally standing up to the bitch that had been making him miserable for months now, and not for anyone else, just for himself.

"Graham, you're not thinking straight…"

"Actually, for the first time, I am," the sheriff cut her off. "I'd rather have nothing than settle for less. Nothing? Is better than what we have. I need to feel something, Regina, and the only way to do that is to give myself a chance."

"Graham," Regina pleaded.

"I'm sorry. It's over," Graham finished.

"I don't know what I ever did to you, Miss Swan, to deserve this," Regina addressed the blonde. "To have you keep coming after everything I hold dear."

"Graham's already told you, it's got nothing to do with Emma," Killian said defensively.

"Not of this happened until she got here," she shot back petulantly.

Finally, Emma had had enough. "I'm sorry. Did you ever stop to think that maybe the problem isn't with me, but with you?"

"Excuse me?" Regina questioned taken aback.

"Henry came and found _me_. Graham kissed _me_. Both were miserable. Maybe, Madame Mayor, you need to take a good hard look in the mirror and ask yourself why that is. Why is everyone running away from you?" Emma asked her, her expression smug as she walked closer to Regina.

Before anyone could see it coming, Regina punched Emma in the face hard enough for her to reel backwards from the shock.

"Emma!"

Killian had moved fast enough to quickly catch Emma before she could fall her full length, but didn't get a grip on her before she had socked Regina square in the jaw. Regina having no one to catch her fell over with the force of Emma's hit, only to be pulled back up and slammed into the wall of the crypt by Emma.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Graham cried as Killian grabbed onto Emma while he held Regina back.

"Let it go, love. Think about Henry, come on, you're better than this," Killian whispered into Emma's ear. Once he was sure enough that she had calmed, Killian loosened his grip on her and she broke free, taking a deep breath.

Emma took one last moment to look Regina up and down before saying, "Not worth it," and walking away. Killian followed her straight after, his burning gaze on Regina not letting up before he had walked past her.

Feeling defeated, Regina looked up to Graham. "Graham," she said helplessly.

Ignoring her completely, the sheriff walked past her to join his friends, leaving the mayor outside of the crypt with a bleeding lip.

* * *

"How's your head, Swan?" Killian asked once they had settled into the station.

"Fantastic, I feel like I could get my black belt in karate from splitting wooden blocks with my head," she replied irritably, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well now we know not to go picking fights on the playground, haven't we?" Killian shot back with an annoying smile, his voice equally as sarcastic.

"Shut up, Jones," Emma said, trying and failing to stay annoyed at him. She just couldn't help but smile when he did his one-sided smirk and raised his eyebrows at her.

Graham came back into the main office and handed Killian the first aid box so that he could stitch Emma up.

"I'm sorry," he told them both. "I don't know what came over me. I kinda lost my mind."

"It's okay. You were tired and feverish… and heartbroken," Emma replied, her lips twitching up in a sympathetic smile.

Graham shook his head. "I don't know why I let myself get caught up with her," he replied.

"Because it was easy. And safe," Killian replied, turning round to face his friend before turning back to Emma.

"Not feeling anything is an attractive option when what you feel sucks," Emma agreed. Killian looked into Emma's eyes as she said this, another small hint of the pain she'd experienced in her past seeping past her walls.

"There you go, Swan. I'm afraid you won't have any interesting scars to show all of your school friends but now we know not to bait the bully," Killian said with a wink, causing Graham to chuckle. The two men looked at each other and smiled just like they used to before all of the memories of the past few days came rushing back to them and turned their smiles sour. Killian bit the inside of his cheek before he turned to Emma.

"Swan, would you mind put this back in the store room, please?" Killian said, handing her the first aid box.

Sensing that the two needed their privacy, Emma picked up the box and gave the two an encouraging smile before she departed, leaving the two officers leaning against the desks opposite each other.

To say that the silence that followed was awkward would be an understatement. After what seemed like years, Killian cleared his throat.

"How are you feeling?" Killian asked.

"Ship shape," Graham replied.

Killian nodded. "Listen, mate…"

"I'm sorry about everything that happened with Emma," Graham blurted out.

Killian just stood there and blinked for a couple of seconds.

"I should have talked to you about this, or done something about Regina sooner and saved us all this mess. Killian, I should have listened to you."

"I'm just glad you survived this, mate. You really scared me back then. If anyone should be apologising, it should be me. I should have told you about Emma but in all honesty, I was afraid. I've already told her that I am selfish when it comes to her, and the thought of losing her to anyone, let alone my best friend, well… it doesn't bear thinking about. Leaving things to explode the way they did, it didn't help either of us, mate, and for that I'm sorry," Killian replied.

"You do realise she's mad about you, don't you?" Graham smirked.

"What?"

"Emma," he elaborated.

It took all of Killian's strength not to beam at that. "What about you? What do you feel for her?"

"Honestly, I don't think I feel anything about her. At least not in that way. Emma for me represents kindness, compassion, loyalty… A bit like how I felt when the wolf was with me. But not love. I think I'll always be grateful to her though, and to you."

"Me? Why would you be grateful to me?" Killian asked, confused.

"It was you and Emma that made me realise that I didn't feel anything, not just Emma. What you two have when you're together, I knew that I could never have that with Regina. It made me realise that I deserve it, and that the only way to do that was to end things with Regina," Graham explained.

"So, you're not upset by my feelings for Emma?" Killian asked.

"Would they change if I said that I was?" Graham questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Definitely not, but I would appreciate your approval," Killian shot back with an easy smile.

"Then yes, consider yourself approved," Graham said, and the two men began to laugh.

"I will follow you to the end of the earth, brother," Killian said. It was an odd thing to say, he thought, he'd never said anything like that before. But he meant every word of it, even if it was a bit weird.

Graham nodded at him, appearing to accept his unusual speech pattern. "I thank you for your loyalty, Killian," Graham said, placing a hand on his deputy's shoulder.

Without even thinking about it, the two embraced, as brother's do, with all of the tension and arguing behind them and making their brotherly bond even stronger.

The breaking of the curse was like an elastic band pinging against your skin. All of the memories rushed back to Graham like the initial slap of elastic against him, and when he registered the memories was like the sharp pain afterwards. They all clicked into place and played in his head like an old film, flicking through a lifetime in a split second.

Graham gasped and fell back onto the desk, breathing deeply.

"Graham, mate, you alright?" Killian said warily.

 _Killian…_ He needed to know. If anyone could help Henry get Emma to believe, it would be Killian.

"I remember," Graham said, smiling at Killian.

"You remember what? That you left the stove on?" Killian joked.

"Killian, listen to me, it's all true! Everything is tr…"

Graham cut off immediately as he lurched forward gasping for air. The cold pain of emptiness from his dream was back, spreading through his chest until it had encased his entire body.

"Graham! Graham!" Killian shouted, as he caught Graham and placed him on the floor.

"Believe in Henry, Kil," Graham choked out.

As soon as he uttered the nickname he had for Killian for the last time, Graham let out his final breath and his long eyelashes grazed his cheek as his eyes closed.

"No, no, no, no, no! Graham!" Killian shouted, shaking his brother in an attempt to try and find any source of life in him. For a split second Killian thought the eyes that had shut had been a startlingly blue colour similar to his own, but as soon as he had blinked he caught a final glance of dark brown.

The eyes that had once held so much light now seemed as though they were sewn shut, never to bring light to anything again. Graham was his brother, his family, it wasn't fair that he should be ripped away from him.

"Help! Help!" Killian screamed powerlessly. "No, no, no, no, no! Not again!"

"Killian! Graham!" Emma's voice sounded. She froze in the doorway as she took in the sight in front of her. "Graham!"

The blonde rushed to her knees beside the pair, desperately trying to find any sign of life. After what seemed like hours of shouting the beloved sheriff's name, the pair finally gave into their sobs, as Killian wept for another brother he had lost and Emma wept for the friend that would never be.

* * *

Long after Graham's body had been taken by the hospital to do an autopsy, Killian was still frozen in that exact spot where he had cradled Graham's head as he died. Emma had left a couple of hours earlier after trying to console him and realising there was nothing she could do for him. Killian had tried everything, he had screamed, he had cried, he had punched the floor, the walls, the desks, he had scattered the papers, and there was still an emptiness that had opened up within him. No, not opened – reopened. He had said 'not again', like this had happened before. He knew that it had happened before, but he couldn't for the life of him remember when. All that he remembered was a flash of bright blue eyes. Finally from sheer exhaustion, the deputy collapsed into a deep sleep on the station floor…

" _You will never leave my side, brother," Lieutenant Jones said, although now it was technically Captain Jones now. Killian's world was spinning out of control. His brother was gone, his mission was a sham, his sister was miles away by herself…_

 _His sister…_

 _What would Jack think? He had broken his promise to her that they would always stick together no matter what. There was no way he could go back to her now, not without Liam. She would surely turn him away for failing to keep their brother safe. The knowledge of this was almost too much for Killian to bear. It made him sick to his stomach. It made him angry. He had been controlled by a corrupt king for too long, and now he had not only lost one sibling, but two as collateral. No longer would he sail under a naval flag, only under a crimson flag as the most fearsome pirate captain in history was born out of his brother's death. Better to bury his feelings along with his brother and not feel anything at all than to face the oncoming wave of grief._


	13. Chapter 12: Sweet Dreams

**Hey, guys! How good is this, an update one week after the last chapter? I'm doing well, especially since this is my longest chapter yet, but I just had so much fun writing this one. For all you Jack fans out there, this chapter is for you, you're gonna find out a lot more about the Jones family dynamic in this chapter. For all you Graham lovers, not so much, as I decided not to write his funeral. For some reason I felt like the funeral should be left up to the interpretation of my readers, but if anyone wants to pm me saying what they think the funeral would have been like, then I would love to hear your thoughts. You might think it was just a bit of a cop out, and I'm not gonna lie, I did find it very difficult to write because there was just so many different ways it could have gone. Anyway, not much Storybrooke action in this chapter, but a hell of a lot of Jack. Also, for all my Snowing shippers PLEASE BE PATIENT as I plan on writing a bit about them in the next chapter. I'll cut this short now because I feel like I'm rambling but I am just SOOOOO EXCITED ABOUT THIS STORY NOW THAT I'VE WRITTEN THIS CHAPTER! Okay, I'm calm, I promise... I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Don't forget to review or pm me with questions and I'll try my best to answer them without spoilers (unless you really, really want me to). ~WG**

* * *

Chapter 12: Sweet Dreams

 _Killian watched his brother as he straightened his shirt up in the small mirror that hung on the wall. He couldn't keep the small smile off his face that was threatening to break into a huge beam across his features. It had been a close shave for Liam back on Neverland; too close. The relief that was racing through Killian's veins was enough to make him dizzy._

" _How are you feeling?" he asked._

" _Shipshape."_

 _Killian looked anxiously at his brother for a moment. Liam paused for a minute before he sighed deeply. "Killian, I should have listened to you," the eldest Jones admitted._

" _Oh," Killian sighed, a laugh threatening to break through. Liam was always so intense, it made Killian worry about what he would come out with sometimes. "I'm just glad you survived." He pushed off the steps he was leaning against and walked towards Liam. "What now, brother?" Killian asked as a way to avoid the awkward silence that would inevitably follow._

" _We reveal our King's cowardice," Liam said immediately. His mind seemed to be whirring back into action as he swept round the other side of the table to retrieve his jacket._

" _Well, let's hope the realm sides with us."_

" _Oh, they will," Liam replied confidently. "To fight battles using unholy weapons is, as you say, bad form." Liam looked at his brother meaningfully, raising one eyebrow in typical Jones fashion._

" _Aye," Killian agreed, moving forward to smarten Liam's collar up like he used to for him when they were younger. "I will follow you to the ends of the Earth, brother," Killian told him earnestly._

" _I think we'd better pick Jacquelyn up before we sail to the ends of the Earth, don't you? She'll be angry enough with us as it is," Liam chuckled, giving his brother a wink._

 _Killian laughed with his brother as a sailor on deck announced their landing. The Jones brothers gave one another an excited look, before Killian, still being the most childish of the pair, raced towards the windows to see the blue of the ocean stare back at him._

 _This was what he became a sailor for, not to do his cowardly King's dirty work._

" _What do you say, Liam? You want some company when you report to the admiralty?" Killian asked gleefully as he turned round._

 _Then all of the glee drained from his face as he saw his brother crumple to the ground._

" _Liam?" Killian said timidly, rooted to the spot for a split second before he sprang into action. Liam groaned as he sank to the floor just in time for Killian to catch him._

" _No! No, no, no, no, no! Liam!" Killian cried, cradling his brother's head as he went limp in his arms. "Liam! Help, HELP!"_

 _Killian knew that he was already too late, that there was no point calling for help; Liam had been a dead man walking since they'd left Neverland. But the man lying dead in Killian's arms was his brother – he refused to believe that he was gone, and so he refused to give in._

" _You can't do this, Liam, not now," he tried to reason. "You promised Jacquelyn! WE promised Jacquelyn. We promised we would always stay together, no matter what. You can't leave her!" Killian shouted fruitlessly. "What am I going to say to her...?"_

 _He could hear the sound of the footsteps from sailors who had heard his cries. Funny, they seemed awfully loud for footsteps..._

* * *

Killian woke up to the sound of someone knocking at the door of the room he was staying in at Granny's. Running a hand over his face, he rolled over and checked the time. It was 10:30 in the morning. Sitting on the edge of his bed, Killian tried to collect himself before he began to look for a t-shirt to put on. That had been the third time he'd had that same dream since Graham died. Killian knew it had to mean something, especially since the dream wasn't the only thing that had been playing on his mind. Even when he wasn't sleeping, he still had flashes of the same man from his dreams, this Liam. Sometimes he felt reminiscent about him, but most of the time it was just a deep sense of sorrow and anger, not dissimilar to how he felt about Graham.

Another set of knocks at the door broke him out of his train of thought. "Yes, I can hear you," Killian said groggily as he pulled a plain black tee over his head and walked over to the door. Standing on the other side was Emma.

"Swan," Killian greeted her, plastering a smile on his face. He really didn't need Emma seeing him in the state that he was. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

He could tell she wasn't buying it but he refused to let on what he was feeling.

"Can I come in?" Emma asked, fixing him with one of her looks that he knew he couldn't refuse.

"Of course," he replied. Killian opened the door and stepped back to let Emma through. "I'd say excuse the mess but you know how it is with these temporary living situations."

Well, he said mess. It wasn't really a mess, a few stray items of clothing here and there, but Killian was a neat freak, so this was messy for him. Emma didn't comment on his statement or the "mess", she just kept looking at him as though she was staring at him through a wall of glass.

"How you holding up?" she asked.

"Me? I'm fine, all things considered," Killian replied automatically.

"If your definition of fine is moving out of your apartment to one of Granny's rooms and not leaving here for three days except to buy rum from the store… then yeah, you're fine," she lectured, giving him a raised eyebrow.

Killian sighed. He knew she would see straight through him. Still, he tried to throw her off anyway. "They're my days off, Swan. I can choose what I want to do with them. I don't see how it's any of your business," he answered defensively.

Emma simply just placed her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows at him again. It seemed as though they were having some kind of stare down. Finally, Killian caved, and his blasé attitude crumpled as he sat on the edge of his bed. His placed his elbows on his knees and buried his head in his hands, feeling more broken than he had ever known in his life.

Killian felt the space next to him on the bed sink a bit, and a small delicate hand was placed on his shoulder. He lifted his head up and turned it to the side to see Emma's lips twitch upward in a sad smile. Killian sighed.

"You're right, Emma. I'm not fine," Killian said, allowing a few tears to escape as he told her his confession. He didn't really care in all honesty; this was Emma after all, he didn't have to pretend in front of her. "Graham was the closest thing to family I had in Storybrooke. He was like an older brother to me, I always looked up to him," he sniffed. Emma started to rub her hand in small circles over Killian's back.

"I know. I miss him, too," Emma responded, trying to sound the least patronising as she possibly could. "But drowning your sorrows in rum isn't going to help you, Killian, you know that. You need to be back somewhere familiar, not hauled up in here."

"You know why I moved out?" Killian asked, turning his head towards her again. Emma shook her head. "It's because the morning after I woke up to an empty apartment. There was no one pelting on my door nagging at me because I'd be late for work. There was no one to tell me I was wearing odd socks, or that my hair was sticking up. There was no one singing along to bloody 80's pop anthems at six in the morning while making breakfast. I can't remember a time that I lived there when it was so… quiet," Killian finished, feeling more and more helpless as he went on.

Emma's eyes were shining with unshed tears at this point. She had no idea what to say to him. Yes, Emma hadn't had many people in her life, so she understood the loneliness. That part she got. But the loss, you actually had to have someone in the first place to experience that.

Killian sniffed again, bringing Emma's attention back to him. He sighed and ran his hands through his dark hair. "I can't do this, Emma. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do," he admitted finally, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders after he'd finally said it.

Emma grabbed his hand in both of hers and squeezed it. "Then let me help you, Killian. Don't put any walls up to shut me out. Don't be like me," she pleaded with him.

To her surprise, Killian laughed.

"How can you help me if I have no idea what I need?" he asked her bitterly. The venom left his voice almost as soon as it had come as he sighed once more. Looking up, he caught a glimpse of his suit that lay over the chair in the corner. His funeral suit.

"I don't know how I'm going to get through tomorrow, Swan."

Emma moved off the bed to crouch down in front of Killian, forcing him to look at her.

"I'll tell you how. Because I am gonna be right there with you tomorrow. I'm not gonna leave your side unless you ask me to. But I won't let you back out of this, Killian. You know he would want you there more than anyone else," Emma said, now clutching on to both of his hands.

Killian gave her a quick smile which she returned immediately, her green eyes glistening. "What about after tomorrow?" the deputy asked, his smile becoming a little brighter.

"I'm not going anywhere, Killian," Emma replied sincerely.

Killian let that statement sink in. He'd be damned if he didn't hold her to that one.

"And what about right now?"

Emma smirked at him as she rose to her full height and held out a hand for him to take.

"Right now, I know you have a bottle of rum hidden in that wardrobe over there," she said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You've just told me off for drinking rum," Killian said incredulously as he stood up.

"You've been drinking alone. It's a different story if you have a drinking buddy," Emma corrected him with a wink, turning round to grab the bottle of rum from the wardrobe. She unscrewed the cap and took a swig from the bottle, flinching as the strong liquid burned the back of her throat.

"To Graham," she said, handing the bottle over to Killian.

"To Graham," he repeated, smiling softly before he took a swig of the rum himself.

* * *

" _Jacquelyn! Jacquelyn!" the brothers Jones shouted, bounding through the front door of their small house._

" _Liam, Killian, what is it?" she answered, scurrying out of her room._

 _Jacquelyn may have been the younger sister, but she was hardly little anymore. At 13-years-old, she was becoming a match for both of her brothers, always managing to keep them on their toes. Her wavy raven hair had grown down to her waist now, so she almost always wore it in a braid, tied with a blue bow. However, this was probably the only 'girly' thing about her. Growing up with two elder brothers to care for her made her more boisterous than most of the boys in her village, let alone the girls. She had no idea of women's style because there was no one to teach her about it, so she opted to wear brown leather trousers accompanied with a white shirt like her brothers._

 _To say Jacquelyn stood out in the village was a gross understatement. People learned to keep away from her from a very early age. The other children always used to tease her for not having real parents or for not being like the other girls, but they learned not to mess with her. Jacquelyn may have had two older brothers that would die for her, but she was more than capable of handling bullies on her own. A few of the boys have discovered that when they returned home to their families with broken noses and black eyes. From then on, they chose to ignore her when she walked by, though she didn't really mind. Her brothers were more than enough for her, acting as both parents and friends._

 _Jacquelyn cantered down the stairs and met her brothers in the small living area they had._

" _What in God's name is all this racket about, I thought one of you had broken your leg," she panted breathlessly._

" _Sorry JJ, we didn't mean to scare you," Killian told her. The middle brother was now 20-years-old, while Liam was three years his senior._

" _Believe me, Jacquelyn, this deserves to be shouted about," Liam said, unable to keep the glee from his face._

" _What's gotten into you both?" Jacquelyn asked, unable to keep the smile from her face. Her brothers so rarely smiled this much when they had just come home from working on the docks. It was a nice change for them._

" _This has," Liam said as he handed her a piece of paper._

 _Jacquelyn's eyes grew wider and wider as she took in the words written on the parchment, her smile threatening to split her face._

" _The King's Royal Navy! You really think we can do it?" she cried._

" _We have to be three of the finest swordsmen in the realm with how often we practise, I know it. They will have no choice but to accept us," Killian said confidently, placing a hand on his younger sibling's shoulder._

" _Well, I wouldn't go as far as that, Killian," Liam said, giving his brother a look. The last thing he wanted to do was give either of siblings false hope. "But after tomorrow night, Killian and I will get our wages from Captain Silver and, along with what we've saved, we will be able to buy our freedom off that wretched ship once and for all."_

" _I can't wait to see the look on Silver's face when he has no choice but to release us," Killian smirked._

 _Jacquelyn couldn't help but beam at her brothers; they had suffered for so long to try and provide for her as well as themselves. Their mother had died in childbirth when Jacquelyn was born, and their father had been a good-for-nothing drunk that had left when Jacquelyn was barely six months old. They would never let her join the docks herself to try and earn some money. They wouldn't let her do anything to help; even the time when she had cut her hair to sell it when she was eight they had been angry with her, telling her that they went to work so she didn't have to do anything like that._

 _But they had always had one dream, that they would one day have their own ship which they would captain together and sail all over the world. Liam was the only one who was old enough to remember anything about sailing, but the stories he always told Killian and Jacquelyn made them hungry for a sailor's adventure. If they were able to join the navy then they would be one step closer to their dream…_

* * *

Alright, so maybe this was a little dangerous and very stupid, _Jacquelyn thought to herself as she crouched behind the cargo on board the ship._

 _Her brothers had been so excited to tell the captain that they would be leaving, she knew she couldn't miss the look on his face when they walked away. She wasn't technically allowed to be doing this, but she'd never really been one for the rules anyway. In this case, the risk was definitely worth it._

 _About an hour into the journey, the seas became choppier and she had to put extra effort into staying in her hiding place as the ship lurched beneath her. Having not had much experience on the sea, her sea legs weren't the best, so staying crouched for the minute was much easier._

 _From what she had heard from her brothers, Jacquelyn knew Captain Silver was not a nice man, and one that should definitely not be crossed. This, however, did not do him justice. He was a vile man who treated his crew as nothing more than a pack of mules. Jacquelyn had no doubt that he used the whip on his crew when they were working, despite it being outlawed several years ago. It would explain a lot of the markings on her brothers' backs that she saw when they thought she was asleep._

 _She hated him; there was no doubt in her mind about that. Liam and Killian had never told her the extent of his tyrannical command, probably because they knew it would upset her, but she wasn't a child anymore, and if she ever had the opportunity she knew she would put Silver behind bars. Or worse._

 _Suddenly, the ship crashed into an almighty wave, catapulting Jacquelyn forward from her hiding spot, right onto the middle of the deck. A pair of black boots appeared in front of her face as she opened her eyes._

" _What's this?" a harsh voice asked._

 _Jacquelyn picked herself up, her knees hurting slightly from when she fell onto the hard deck._

" _This happens to be a who, not a what, thank you, Captain," she said steely, trying to sound braver than she felt._

 _The captain smirked vilely at her. "And what do you think you're doing on a ship that is several miles away from port, Miss…?"_

" _Jacquelyn?" a voice said behind her._

 _Jacquelyn groaned inwardly, turning around to see her eldest brother staring at her in shock, before anger contorted his features once he realised what she had done._

" _Does this one belong to you, Jones?" the captain asked._

 _Jacquelyn stared at Liam, communicating how sorry she was as much as she could without actually saying it out loud._

" _She is my sister, Captain," Liam admitted._

" _Oh, she is, is she?" the captain smirked. "Well, what on Earth is she doing here? Perhaps you should learn to control your sister a bit more, Jones," Silver said. He grabbed Jacquelyn by the arm and threw her towards Liam, who caught her readily._

" _No one controls me but myself. I am my own person," Jacquelyn barked at the captain._

" _What the bloody hell is going on?" Killian said in surprise, seeing the commotion and racing to his siblings._

" _Both of you, calm down," Liam hushed at them, trying to contain the situation._

" _How touching," Captain Silver continued. All the crew that could be spared were spectating now, watching the three siblings in the middle of the deck. "The Jones family, looking after one another," he mocked, causing the rest of the admiralty to laugh. "Pity you can't stay together, isn't it?"_

" _What do you mean?" Jacquelyn voiced, her tone laced with worry._

 _The captain walked down the steps onto the main deck and closed the distance between himself and Jacquelyn. "Do you know what we do to stowaways, Miss Jones?" he whispered. "We throw them overboard."_

 _It was as if a cork had been pulled from a bottle containing the fires of Hell itself at his words. Liam jerked his sister behind him while Killian jumped to his feet to stare the captain down._

" _If you lay even a finger on her I'll kill you myself," Killian vowed._

" _It's alright, Killian. He wouldn't dare," Jacquelyn stated calmly._

 _The captain looked amused at this. "Oh? And what makes you think that, Miss Jones?" he asked her, brushing past Killian._

" _Jacquelyn, please don't make this worse," Liam pleaded with her quietly, but he might as well have been whispering to the deck._

" _Because you aren't one hundred percent sure that someone's conscience on this ship won't get the better of them," she replied, standing up and walking to the captain once more. "Many of these men may even have daughters themselves. How do you think they would feel if you throw a defenceless young girl overboard whose only crime was getting lost on the docks and wandering onto a ship that she had no idea would be leaving the port?" she whispered, getting closer to the captain than she would have liked. As she pulled away from him, she smirked at him, knowing that she had him cornered. He couldn't touch her now, knowing that he would almost certainly have a mutiny on his hands if he did._

" _Jones, keep your sister out of the way until we get back to port," he spat, before walking back into his captain's quarters._

 _Jacquelyn smirked as she turned around, but it soon fell from her face when she saw the look her brothers were giving her. Even Killian, who was never as serious as Liam, seemed angry at her._

" _Surprise," Jacquelyn tried. Apparently this was the wrong thing to say._

" _How could you possibly be so foolish, Jacquelyn?" Liam hissed, causing her to turn on her defensive. She had never seen Liam so angry before._

" _I knew what I was doing!" she defended._

" _Clearly, you didn't because you almost got thrown overboard," Liam shot back at her, causing her to flinch. Jacquelyn looked over at Killian who remained silent with his arms folded in front of his chest. Clearly she wasn't going to be getting any support from her other brother._

"Almost. Almost _got thrown overboard, not_ did _get thrown overboard."_

" _That's not the point, Jacquelyn. Killian and I work on this wretched ship to ensure you're safety. We've never let you work on the docks because we knew that you wouldn't be safe. And this is how you repay us? By throwing it back in our faces?" he said softly._

 _Jacquelyn almost wished that Liam had shouted at her, because the way he said this was so much worse. He sounded hurt and betrayed, something which Jacquelyn never thought she would be capable of making her brothers feel._

" _I'm sorry, Liam," she replied timidly, looking down at her feet. "I just wanted to watch you tell Captain Silver that you and Killian would be leaving."_

 _Liam sighed, seeming to soften slightly, but not enough. "I must get back to work," he said, leaving Jacquelyn in his wake. Jacquelyn turned to watch her eldest brother stalk past her to the other end of the ship without so much as even a glance back._

 _Turning back round, she saw that Killian had moved forward to stand in front of her. She could see the tension in his shoulders. Killian's anger was altogether different from Liam's, but just as bad. While Liam made you feel guilty and ashamed with the way he told you exactly what you had done wrong, Killian's brooding silence made you feel scared, knowing that he could explode at any moment._

" _Killian…" Jacquelyn began before she trailed off as she saw her brother raise an eyebrow._ Uh oh, _she thought._

" _Not now, Jacquelyn," he replied, his voice deadly calm. Killian hardly ever called her by her real name as he had so many nicknames for her, so that was when she really knew that she was in trouble. This was definitely going to be a long shift._

* * *

 _The sea had become even more violent as time dragged on, and it was all Jacquelyn could do not to fall overboard. Finding her sea legs hadn't been easy with the waves being so unpredictable, but she was starting to get the hang of it. Now all that was left to do was to see how she could make this up to her brothers._

 _Looking over at them, Jacquelyn could see that they weren't too busy at the moment, simply looking out to see with a spyglass. Deciding it would be better to face them sooner rather than later, she walked over to the other side of the ship where her brothers were._

"… _We have other demons to confront, look," Liam said, lowering the spyglass from his face. The colour had completely drained from his face, and he raced off without even noticing Jacquelyn was there. Killian glanced through the spyglass and he too also appeared to be in shock._

" _What is it?" Jacquelyn asked nervously._

" _Take a look for yourself," Killian replied, handing her the spyglass. This was when Jacquelyn guessed that things were really bad; all traces of anger when he spoke to her had vanished from his voice, only panic seeped through._

 _Jacquelyn took the spyglass from him and stepped up to get a better look, gripping tightly onto the rigging so that she didn't fall. Peering through the spyglass, she saw a worse storm than she could have ever imagined to be real. The dark clouds were swirling viciously, and lightning seemed to be striking almost every five seconds. And the worst part was they were heading straight for it._

" _Captain Silver!" they heard Liam shout, causing them to spin round to watch him. "Are you aware this ship is pointed dead into a storm?"_

 _Silver barely even batted an eyelid, not even bothering to look at Liam. "Back to the rigging, Jones. Leave the navigation to the officers," he said patronisingly. It made Jacquelyn's blood boil._

" _Well, your officers are doing a piss poor job!" Killian yelled at him._

" _You're thirty degrees off course, headed into a hurricane," Jacquelyn joined in. She'd be damned if she didn't defend her brothers when they could potentially save every life on this ship._

" _We're aware. Carry on," the captain replied nonchalantly._

" _Are you mad?! What kind of a captain sails into a hurricane?!" Liam shouted._

" _The kind that earns his namesake!" Silver cried. He dropped down and squared up to Liam. Killian had to hold Jacquelyn back before she moved forward to sock the captain in the jaw. "The King offered a mighty reward for what's inside that storm."_

 _Jacquelyn gasped. Of course, why hadn't she thought of that sooner?_

" _This voyage was never about the grain in the hold, was it?" Liam questioned, catching on to the captain's agenda. "You're going after that cursed sapphire… The Eye of the Storm."_

" _So you've heard of it."_

" _Well, every sailor's heard of it," Jacquelyn said._

" _Countless men have sailed into that storm looking for that bloody stone, but none have survived!" Killian cried._

 _The realisation suddenly dawned on Jacquelyn that if they kept going for much longer they would be able to turn back, and the likelihood of herself and both of her brothers surviving this were very slim._

" _If you don't like how I run my ship you can dive overboard. Now, move along before I string you up for mutiny," the captain barked at them._

 _The Jones family were really cornered now. Jacquelyn and Killian shared a grim look with one another before they looked back to their eldest brother for instruction. Whenever they were in a tight situation they always followed Liam's lead, simply because he usual knew how to make the best of a bad situation. But it seemed this time, even his solution wasn't ideal._

" _Easy, Captain. I have always abhorred the idea of mutiny," Liam said, turning around to shoot his siblings a meaningful look._

 _What happened next took place within a split second before anyone could realise what they were doing. Killian reached forward for a stray sword lying on top of a barrel, while Jacquelyn elbowed the sailor next to her in the stomach, reaching for his sword as he doubled over. Liam had somehow managed to sneak Silver's sword out from under his nose._

" _But if that's what it takes to save these men, then so be it!" Liam continued. In that moment, Jacquelyn couldn't have been prouder of her two brothers._

" _Now, shall we do this the easy way, or the bloody way?" Killian cried._

" _And believe us, the bloody way is not pleasant in the slightest," Jacquelyn warned, a morbid smirk flashing across her features._

 _After a brief pause, Silver ordered his men to surrender, which was met with cheers from the rest of the crew._

" _The ship is ours, men!" Liam said. Jacquelyn coughed lightly, raising an eyebrow at him. "And lady," Liam added, smirking at her. She smirked back at him._

" _Killian, tie these bastards up. I'll go find the captain's charts and plot a course out of this bloody typhoon," Liam said urgently._

" _What about me? What can I do?" Jacquelyn asked eagerly._

" _You can stay out of trouble, young lady. Don't think we will not be having a serious conversation when we get home."_

" _If we get home," Jacquelyn shot back, surprising both of her brother._

" _Jacquelyn…" Killian began._

" _I am only being realistic. That storm looks as though it has been conjured by the Devil himself. You're going to need every bit of help you can get if we're going to have any chance of surviving this. I'm not a little girl anymore, Liam. You can't keep wrapping me up in cotton wool like I'm a delicate porcelain doll."_

 _Liam seemed taken aback by his sister's sudden outburst. Looking at his brother, he saw that Killian saw the reason within her words as Liam did. The only difference was that Liam didn't want to admit that his little sister was growing up. But if there was any time for her to be loaded with some responsibility, it was now._

" _Alright," Liam sighed, seeing Jacquelyn's face light up. "I want you to tie down as many loose things on deck as you can. The less that's flying round this ship, the more balance we'll have. Do you remember how to do the knot I showed you?"_

 _Jacquelyn nodded at him._

" _Good girl," he replied, beaming down at her as he cupped her cheek. Then the moment had passed, as Liam straightened up to command the rest of the crew. "Be careful, both of you. Watch out for each other," he told them._

" _Don't we always?" replied Killian, his lips twitching upwards in a one-sided smirk._

* * *

 _Jacquelyn looked up at the sails which had just been brought down as an awful realisation occurred. They were going too fast into the storm. Even if they could turn the ship around, it would be too late. There only hope was to brave the storm. Running up to the captain's quarters as fast as she could while the wind whipped at her small frame, she collided straight into the man she was looking for._

" _Liam, the ship, it's going to fast…" she panted._

" _I know, I've already told the other men," Liam told her. "Have you seen Killian?"_

" _He's up at the helm trying to steer us away," Jacquelyn pointed. Liam grabbed her hand and dragged her up to the quarter deck faster than she would have been able to on her own. Once they'd reach the helm they saw their brother was struggling with the wheel, almost about to let go. Without even thinking both siblings leapt forward to help their brother control the wheel._

" _Liam, the storm is too strong, I fear we can't turn around," Killian panted._

" _It's no use anyway, we're moving too fast now. We're just going to have to ride it out," Liam said. Killian whipped his head round to look at his brother who gave him a grim nod. Both brothers turned to look at their sister who was also still hanging onto the wheel. All three of them knew that it was very unlikely that they would all make it, but none of dared say it. They all just hung onto the wheel and each other as they sailed closer into the storm._

" _We'll stay together, won't we?" Jacquelyn shouted to them above the roar of the wind. "Promise me we'll stay together!"_

 _Liam and Killian looked at each other. They knew that this promise would almost certainly be broken within the next few minutes, but they could tell that to Jacquelyn._

" _Promise," Liam said._

" _Always," replied Killian._

 _This seemed to be enough for Jacquelyn, who let go of the wheel for her brothers to handle on their own before she turned round and hugged them to her as tight as she could. Seconds later, an almighty wave crashed upon the helm, and swept away the Jones family who hung onto each other as tightly as they could._

* * *

 _Liam, Killian and Jacquelyn were exhausted when they finally crawled upon the shore. They had managed to find a large piece of driftwood big enough to support them all and had clung onto it and each other for the whole night as they drifted back to land. Their clothes were sodden, each feeling as though their pockets were filled with rocks weighing them down. Finally as they flopped down on the sand, Jacquelyn had a chance to relax, and it was only then did she notice the intense discomfort on her right leg. Frowning, she sat up and rubbed her hand down the side of her thigh until it hit a ridge about halfway down. There was something in her pocket._

 _Reaching in tentatively in case it turned out to be a crab, Jacquelyn's hand closed around a hard object that was cool to the touch. As she pulled it out of her pocket, she had to look away from it as the sun's reflection on it shone into her eyes. Taking another look, she squinting at the large stone in her hand that was as blue as the ocean in front of her._

 _She clasped a hand to her mouth in sheer disbelief. It was impossible, completely impossible. But then again, it was also impossible that they had survived, so maybe…_

" _Liam, Killian, get up!" she shouted at them excitedly._

" _What is it, JJ?" Killian asked, almost immediately by her side._

" _It's the Eye of the Storm," she breathed, unable to take her eyes of it for more than a second._

" _It's not possible," Liam gasped, slowing reaching out to touch it._

" _Ahoy, there!" a man shouted. Jacquelyn immediately shoved the jewel behind her back. "By the King's name, what's happened to you three sailors?"_

" _We're survivors of the tempest that plagues these waters," Killian answered him._

" _Let me guess. You went in search of the Eye of the Storm? If you ask me, you deserve what you get," the man replied._

" _No one was asking you," Jacquelyn muttered quietly so that only her brothers could hear, earning her a dig in the ribs from Liam._

" _You may be right, but the gem is no legend," Liam replied, taking the stone from behind Jacquelyn's back and lifting it up to show the man._

" _You found it!" the man cried in disbelief, his shouts attracting the attention of another colleague. "But how?" he asked._

" _We have no idea, sir," Jacquelyn answered. "One minute we were aboard the ship trying to keep control of the helm and the next we were washed overboard into the sea. We found a large piece of driftwood that saw us back to shore. When I checked my pockets the jewel was there."_

" _Well in that case, my ship will bring you to the King, who has offered a great reward for this stone."_

" _We do not seek wealth, only honour. Perhaps His Majesty might grant us a naval commission?" Liam suggested._

" _Why wait for the King?" the officer replied._

 _Jacquelyn's heart soared. Every dream she and her brothers had ever come up with were about to come true._

" _I would be honoured to offer you and your brother commissions of my ship. She's a flagship of the Royal Navy. And what can I offer your sister?" he continued._

 _For a split second, Jacquelyn felt as though her world had stopped spinning at his words. In that instant all she wanted to do was allow her knees to buckle and weep. Why would he offer her brothers a naval commission and not her when she was the one who had found the Eye of the Storm? She knew women weren't treated as equal to men in her land, but she was only 13-years-old and already facing the reality of discrimination. Liam and Killian had never treated her as inferior; she was almost identical to them in what they wore, how they talked, how they acted. The only difference was her gender. It infuriated her; she knew she was deserving of this naval commission, and so she wouldn't let herself crumple to the ground and show weakness. She would fight for this no matter what it took._

 _Gritting her teeth, she raised her chin defiantly at the officer. "I would also like a naval commission," she replied, her voice unwavering._

 _At first the officer must have thought it was a joke, but the smile slowly faded from his face as he realised she was being serious. "No female has ever sailed in the Royal Navy. The sea is a man's world, everyone knows this."_

" _Then perhaps it is time for a change," Jacquelyn shot back, staring unyieldingly at the officer. "How about we make a deal?"_

 _The officer quipped an eyebrow at this. "Go on," he said._

 _Jacquelyn took a step towards him, placing her hands on her hips. "Three minutes. If I can last three minutes in a swordfight against you, then you give me an equal commission to my brothers. I am to have equal training and treatment during my time in the navy, unconditionally."_

" _And if you can't last three minutes?"_

 _Jacquelyn looked over her shoulder to see her brothers standing behind her. They both gave her the smallest nod of confirmation and she knew what they meant at once: if one of them didn't get their commission, then none of them got their commission._

" _Then you can take the Eye of the Storm and collect the reward for yourself," Jacquelyn replied, turning back to face the officer._

 _His lips twitched upward in a satisfied smile. "Deal."_

 _They both took a step back from each other, Jacquelyn looking over to her brothers. Both gave her an encouraging smile, which she gratefully returned. They would always support Jacquelyn when she was going after something she wanted – nothing ever stood in her way of achieving her goals._

" _Perhaps your colleague would be so kind as to let me borrow his sword?" Jacquelyn asked once the officer had shrugged his jacket off. He nodded once to the other officer, who moved forward and drew his sword, extending it hilt up to Jacquelyn. She reached out to grab the blade, her arm swinging downward with it when the other officer let go of it. She looked up in time to see the remnants of the officer's smirk._

" _It's a little heavier than I expected it to be," she said sheepishly, fidgeting nervously._

" _Mr Mercer," the officer said to his colleague. "If you would be so kind as to time us."_

" _Of course, sir," Mercer said, pulling a golden pocket watch out of his pocket. "When you're ready, sir."_

 _The officer smiled once at Jacquelyn before he took his first swing. Jacquelyn heaved the sword up to block his attack, but it was weak and her blade almost fell out of her hand. The officer tried again for another strike, which she blocked a little better, but didn't recover her sword in time to block the swing he took, forcing her to jump back from him, narrowly avoiding a slice at her ribs._

 _The swordplay continued like this for another minute and a half, full of weak blocks and narrow misses. However, even though Jacquelyn seemed to be struggling, neither of her brothers seemed to be concerned. They were both just watching calmly with their arms folded across their chests._

" _Are you sure you would like to continue, young miss? You seem to be getting awfully tired," the officer smirked, chancing a glance over at Mr Mercer. That was his big mistake._

 _Giving Jacquelyn exactly the opening she wanted, she corrected her grip on her sword and swung at almost double the speed she had been blocking at, forcing the officer to jump back this time. Not giving him a chance to recover, she attacked with a series of blows and parries, taking full advantage of the shock window he had given her._

 _Her footwork was extremely precise for how fast she was moving, and it looked as though the sword had become an extension of her arm that had been their her entire life. A spectator wouldn't even think it was the same sword if they were watching, and definitely not the same swordsman. Well, swordswoman. The officer seemed to have regained his composure by now, and the battle was back on even footing, though Jacquelyn had no trouble keeping up. The thing about having no other friends while her brothers were at work is that she had an awful lot of time to occupy herself, and that meant practising her sword fighting._

 _While the officer had strength on his side, Jacquelyn had speed, and in her experience, speed always won. Being able to dodge and block gave her a great defensive, but being quick enough to attack while her opponent couldn't get into a proper defensive position gave her an even better offence. Taking one last swipe after twirling her blade above her head, she managed to nick the back of the officer's wrist just before Mr Mercer called time._

" _How's that for females having never sailed in the Royal Navy?" Jacquelyn smirked at him, relishing in the glare he gave her. Liam and Killian were almost immediately by her side, sweeping her up into their arms._

" _That was bloody brilliant, JJ," Killian laughed._

" _Your footwork was excellent," Liam said. Both of them were gushing with pride, and Jacquelyn found it hard to pinpoint a moment that she had ever felt happier._

" _You tricked me! That was bad form, I have every right in my mind to see our deal as null and void," the officer spat._

 _Liam and Killian snapped their heads up and glared at the officer, but Jacquelyn stepped forward before they could say anything._

" _I did no such thing! You simply forgot the first rule of swordplay," she said calmly, shrugging her shoulders before turning to walk back to her brothers._

" _And what would that be, since you're so clearly an expert?"_

 _Jacquelyn paused and looked over her shoulder at the officer. "That you should never underestimate your opponent. If anyone here had bad form, I'd say it was you, sir," she said delicately._

 _The officer looked livid for a moment, but then his features softened and he actually began to laugh. He held out a hand to her which Jacquelyn gratefully took. "Perhaps it's time that we revisited our ideas of our world. I'd be happy to have a sailor like you, Miss…?"_

" _Jones," she replied, beaming from ear to ear. "Jacquelyn Jones. And these are my elder brothers, Killian and Liam."_

" _You trained your sister yourselves?" he asked them, shaking each of their hands in turn._

" _Yes, sir," they replied together._

" _Then you've done an excellent job. I have no doubt that my ship would benefit from all three of you, once you've had a bit more training."_

" _Thank you, sir. You won't regret this," Liam told him._

" _I'd better not, Jones," he smiled at them. "Tomorrow I want you to report to the naval academy at noon and ask for Captain Whitehall. We'll sort you out with some accommodation and you will begin your training the day after." With that, Captain Whitehall walked back up the beach and left the Jones family to discuss their new future._

" _Did that really just happen?" Jacquelyn asked her brothers in disbelief._

" _You know, JJ… I think it bloody well did, we're about to become naval officers!" Killian shouted, sweeping Jacquelyn up and spinning her round._

 _Anyone else watching the scene on the beach just then would see a small family having fun, the two youngest members chasing each other on the beach and laughing while the eldest watched on with a fond smile on his face. Little would they know that this exact moment was the start of their new life..._

* * *

For the first time in two weeks, Killian woke up with a smile on his face. Last night had been his first night back in his apartment since Graham's death. After the funeral Killian had begun to come out of his shell once more, with Emma being right by his side whenever he needed her to be. Finally, she had convinced him to move back into his apartment, and he was so glad that she did. Maybe it was because of the familiar feeling of being home, but last night was the longest period of sleep he'd had for weeks without a nightmare. Maybe it was a sign that things were getting better. Or maybe it was just the calm before the storm. After all, being the newly appointed sheriff would undoubtedly have its ups and downs.


	14. Chapter 13: Different Realities

**Hey, everyone! Yeah, I know, I suck. It's been over a month since my last update. In fact, I actually updated more when I was studying for my GCSEs than when it's been the summer holidays... But it didn't impacts me too much considering my results were pretty good. I got 9 A*s and 3 A's, so yeah, I'm pretty proud of myself. Now, I know I say that results might be slow almost every update, but now I definitely think they will be. I have so much work to do. I'm taking 4 incredibly difficult A levels, as well as being involved in lots of extra curricular stuff like my school show, I'm also starting my dance lessons again and I really want to try and find a part time job. So yeah, my schedule is looking pretty full, but let me just say... I AM NOT ABANDONING THIS STORY! I feel like I kinda procrastinated a lot with chapter and I don't really know why, but after the next couple of chapters the story will really begin to pick up as we head into a more serious dynamic for the Captain Swan relationship, as well as the storyline just progressing generally. As for this chapter, it's sort of a bit of a filler chapter. I apologise if you guys aren't a huge fan of filler chapters, personally I quite like them because it just gives you a break from all the action. However, even if you don't like filler chapters, you'll probably like this one as I'm introducing a new original character in this chapter who I think you're all really gonna like. She's actually based on one of my best friends (you know who you are) as well as being based off a fairy tale character that isn't in Once Upon A Time. I'm really looking forward to see if you guys can work out who she was in her previous life! For all you Captain Swan shippers, this isn't a CS central chapter but there is a couple of nice moments for them. For all you Snowing shippers, REJOICE for this is very Snowing central because I just love those guys, especially in season one and I just feel like they haven't really been present enough in this fic yet. Anyway, I'm gonna stop rambling now since I've delayed this chapter for long enough. Give me a review if you like this chapter or have any questions about it, or PM me if you really want. ~WG**

* * *

Chapter 13: Different Realities

"Morning," Emma said brightly, strolling into the sheriff station with the two coffee cups in her hand. Killian glanced up at her as she placed the steaming cup of black liquid in front of him.

"Swan, I swear you are an angel sent from above," he replied, inhaling the scent of the coffee as he brought it to his lips.

Emma rolled her eyes playfully. "Don't be such a drama queen, Jones."

Killian smirked at her as he stood up and walked past her to retrieve something from his office. He had been sheriff for over a month now, and things were finally starting to seem normal again. Well, whatever normal was. Of course, Regina had been against the idea of Killian becoming sheriff by default, knowing that she would have lost her control over the police department, but there was really no competition for anyone to become sheriff when Killian had been a deputy for so long. He still missed Graham terribly, but the nightmares had subsided for now, and he was smiling more every day, especially when Emma was around.

"So, slow day today?" Emma asked when the sheriff re-entered the room.

"When isn't it a slow day?" he grumbled, sitting himself back down in his usual seat.

"Well, there was my first day as deputy. And the time when David went missing. And there was…"

"Alright, Swan. Don't get smart with me," Killian said, raising an eyebrow at her as he looked up through his dark lashes.

"What you gonna do about it, sheriff?" she retorted playfully, resting her chin on her knuckles as she gazed at him over the top of her desk.

Killian gulped, trying to get some moisture back into his mouth that suddenly went dry. Interactions like this had become a lot more common with Emma; he knew she loved to tease him to no end.

Killian cleared his throat, and broke their gaze, not missing Emma's smirk as he did so. "I've been thinking," he began.

"Careful, you could do some damage," Emma shot at him.

Killian ignored her. "Do you think we should get a new deputy?" he asked.

Emma raised her eyebrows. "Do you think we need a new deputy?"

Killian bit the inside of his cheek. "I know things have been quiet recently, but… it might bring a bit more life into the station. Not that you're not lively enough, Swan," he recovered quickly, seeing Emma's deflated expression. "It's just that I think we could do with some days off here and there and we need someone to cover the station."

Emma nodded, contemplating his argument. "You got anyone in mind?" she asked curiously.

Killian smirked. "I have a good idea."

* * *

 _One month earlier…_

 _Killian was just about to unlock the door of his car when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The newly appointed sheriff whipped around, his hand going towards the gun in his jeans._

" _Woah, easy there, sheriff," a calm voice said. Killian looked up to see David taking a step back and holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture. Killian relaxed his posture considerably, and breathed out a shaky laugh._

" _You okay? I've been calling your name from halfway up the street," David asked._

 _Killian shrugged. "Sorry, mate. I'm miles away," the sheriff said, flashing him an apologetic smile. It was quickly dropped as Killian looked down at his keys, his mind wandering to his late friend._

 _David took a step towards Killian and placed his hand back on his shoulder. Killian glanced up at him questioningly._

" _You look like you could do with a drink," David said simply._

 _Killian flashed a quick smirk. "Do I really look that bad?"_

 _David slapped him on the shoulder lightly. "C'mon, I'll take you to The Rabbit Hole."_

 _Half an hour later, the men had already downed their first shot of rum and were about to order their second. Until then, they had avoided talking about Graham, choosing lighter topics like sport or the price of gas._

" _So," David began as Killian threw back his next drink of rum. "How are you holding up?"_

 _Killian tensed visibly, but played it off. "I'm fine, mate," he replied, flashing David what would have been a reassuring smile, had his eyes not been so dull with the reflection of the broken man behind them._

" _Killian," David said, not giving in._

" _Dave, listen," Killian said. "I am sick and tired of people asking me how I am. It's all anyone has ever asked me since that night. Even Emma is struggling to think of something else to say. It's like she's walking on egg shells around me," the sheriff confessed, gazing into his empty glass. He paused for another moment, and David let him gather his thoughts, simply watching the man sitting next to him. "All I really want to do is just move on. I can't do that if people keep asking me if I'm okay. Make sense?" Killian continued, looking at David._

 _David nodded at him. "I understand," he said simply._

 _Killian snorted and looked back down at his glass. "Of course you do," he muttered bitterly, the alcohol in his system starting to come through._

" _Yeah actually, I do," David retorted. His tone made Killian glance up at him once more. "You hate the sympathetic looks you get off people, and the way that they either try to tackle the problem for you or they completely avoid the topic of conversation as if it were taboo. You just want things to get back to normal, even if you have no idea what normal is right now. And whenever you feel like you're getting somewhere, someone will come and ask you how you feel and it will put you right back to square one. Believe me, Killian, I understand," David ranted. He raised his eyebrow at Killian before he down his second shot of rum._

 _Killian nodded in realisation. "You had this with your amnesia, didn't you?"_

 _David looked at him sideways. "I know that losing your best friend and losing your memories are different, but people still treat you the same. Remember when we met in the hospital, and you gave me your card?"_

" _I said that if you needed anything you should give me a call," Killian recalled, nodding at him._

" _Well, I'm offering you the same thing, Kil," David said sincerely. He didn't miss the way Killian tensed slightly at his old nickname, but as quickly as it happened he relaxed and the ghost of a smile flickered across his face._

 _Killian turned his head to look at the man next to him. "You're a good man, David. You have good form," the sheriff complimented._

 _David shrugged. "You give some, you get some," he smirked._

 _Killian smiled back at him. David raised his new glass that the barmaid just placed in front of him and held it out. Killian repeated the gesture with his own, and clashed the glasses together lightly before they each downed their third and final shot._

* * *

The phone interrupted Killian's thoughts, and he reached around the pick it up.

"Sheriff station," he answered. He listened to the other end with a small frown on his face. Emma smiled at his endearing expression, noticing how… _cute_ it made him look for a guy who you would never normally describe as cute. "Alright, thank you. We'll be there soon," he said, and he hung the phone up.

"Brutal murder?" Emma asked as Killian got up, shrugging his leather jacket on.

"Shop lifting at the pharmacy. Coming?" he asked. It's not like Emma had much of a choice by the looks of things as Killian had already thrown her red leather jacket at her.

Emma raised an eyebrow at him as she caught her jacket easily. "Don't we need someone back at the station?" she inquired.

"And that, Swan, is exactly the reason we need another deputy," Killian shot back at her with a wink. "Besides, I might need back up," he commented sarcastically.

Emma got up and sauntered over to the doorway where Killian stood, her golden blonde hair lightly swishing behind her back. "You'll definitely need back up, knowing you. Guess I'll just have to be the one that saves your sorry ass," she smirked, moving towards him so that they were barely a foot away from each other.

Killian looked down into her vivid green eyes and grinned. "Promise?" he asked cheekily.

Emma simply smiled at him before she took a step back and left the station knowing that Killian would follow her. And Killian knew that there was nothing that ever would stop him from following that woman.

* * *

Today was a Tuesday, so Mary Margaret wasn't at work. That meant she could go and see David on his lunch break. It was common practise for her to walk to the animal shelter from her apartment on Tuesday and she and David would go to Granny's for lunch. It seemed like such a mundane thing to do, but she would wait all week for it. Simply basking in one another's presence was perfectly satisfying for the couple. It had been around three months since their relationship began, and Mary Margaret couldn't remember being happier. David was everything she had ever hoped he would be and more. He was incredibly sweet and chivalrous, kind and generous, and not to mention extremely handsome – his blue eyes could light up the room. Sighing in contentment, Mary Margaret pushed open the door to the animal clinic.

And immediately heard shouting.

"Damn mutts, you bark at me one more time and you ain't getting fed for a week!" an angry feminine voice yelled. Mary Margaret couldn't help but smirk at the empty threat; David's colleague at the shelter never failed to make her laugh.

Within the next few seconds, a petite woman of around twenty five came storming round the corner and into the main reception. For being fairly short, at only five foot two, she was definitely someone that most people in Storybrooke would not like to cross. When she got angry, her temper could match even Leroy's. Even though she was very short, it was almost impossible to miss the girl with her shock of brightly coloured hair that changed almost every week. This week, she had opted for a bright bubblegum pink.

"Hey there, Jynx," Mary Margaret said, effectively announcing her presence to the girl.

The scowl residing on Jynx's round face dropped immediately as she took in the sight of Mary Margaret.

"Hey, M!" she replied happily, jumping up onto the counter and swinging her legs round the front to face the brunette. "You're a little early, but David should be finishing up in about five minutes so you're welcome to wait," she said politely, patting the space on the counter next to her.

Mary Margaret smiled and hopped onto the counter next to Jynx. She was a sweet girl really, though you wouldn't think it to look at her with her dark purple lips and heavily lined eyes.

"So, how's things with you and David? You know, I try to get him to talk to me but it just isn't the same as some good girly gossip. I think I'd have better luck talking the dogs than him," she muttered, distastefully eyeing the door that she had just walked out of.

Mary Margaret giggled at her friend's antics. "Things are going really well, thank you. We're both really happy."

Jynx rolled her violet eyes. "Ugh, you are guys are so cute, it makes me ill," she replied, pulling her dark jean-clad legs up onto the counter so that she could face Mary Margaret cross-legged.

"Just you wait, Jynx. You'll feel like this someday, too," Mary Margaret said, raising an eyebrow at her.

Jynx snorted. "Have you met me, M? You know I don't do all this sickly romance crap."

"No, I know. But maybe you just need to find someone who doesn't want the sickly romance crap either."

"Alas, Damon Salvator is unfortunately fictional," Jynx replied sarcastically, causing both of the girls to laugh.

"What are you two giggling at?" David asked, his voice slightly muffled from the pile of boxes he was carrying before he placed them on the counter next to Mary Margaret.

"Hey," he greeted her, before placing a light peck on the teacher's lips.

"Hey," she replied, her face about to split in half from the smile she was wearing.

"And that is your cue to leave," Jynx said, rolling her eyes as she hopped off the counter. She walked around the back to find her black and red flannel shirt from her chair and tied it around her waist. David smirked at Mary Margaret as he opened the door for her to leave.

"Remember to stay safe! I don't need you taking paternity leave, David, because someone has to feed the dogs and it's not gonna be me," Jynx shouted from behind the counter. A blush crept into Mary Margaret's cheeks and the couple looked sufficiently embarrassed. Jynx glanced over the top of the counter, her violet eyes seeing that her comment had done its job.

David glanced at Mary Margaret sheepishly before looking back at his colleague who just smiled innocently at him. "What kind of person works in animal shelter when they don't even like dogs, anyway? You're crazy, Jynx." And without waiting for a reply, David and Mary Margaret left.

Jynx watched the door for a couple of seconds with a smug smile on her face. One of the cats from the shelter jumped up onto the counter and nuzzled into Jynx's touch. "I'm not crazy," she said, partially to herself and partially to the cat. "My reality is just different from yours," she grinned.

She pulled the cat into her lap and stroked it as it began to purr. "What do you think about my new hair, Mittens?" she asked the cat. The black and white moggy replied with a quiet 'meow' and Jynx frowned.

"Yeah, I guess pink's not really my colour," she admitted wrinkling her nose.

* * *

Mary Margaret and David walked hand in hand down the street towards David's car, their intertwined fingers swaying slightly with every step.

"You know, I think Jynx is getting more used to the dogs now. She wasn't swearing at them when I came into the shelter," Mary Margaret said earnestly.

David chuckled at her statement. "It's true," he nodded. "Despite her claims that she's a cat person, I think the dogs are really starting to grow on her. Maybe only a little every day, but she's getting there."

Mary Margaret giggled. For all her aggressive tendencies, Jynx was quite endearing at times. "So, where do you fancy going to eat? Granny's?" the teacher suggested once they reached David's truck.

David wrapped his arms around her slender waist as he leaned against his truck, pulling Mary Margaret closer to him. She placed her small hands on his broad chest and smiled up at him, pleasantly surprised by the contact.

"Actually, I was thinking we could do something different today," David said, beaming down at his girlfriend.

The teacher cocked her head to the side and raised a slender eyebrow. "Oh, really? And what do you plan on doing in your half hour lunch break?" Mary Margaret retorted, half sarcastically and half curious.

"Actually, I kinda have the rest of the day off," David admitted, smiling at the surprise that flickered across Mary Margaret's face. "I know you get bored on Tuesdays with nothing to do except our lunch dates so I'm taking the rest of the day off to spend with you. I already cleared it with Jynx; her intern is coming in to feed the dogs on my shift."

Mary Margaret's smile just kept getting wider and wider as she listened to David. "Jynx has an intern?" she asked doubtfully, not really caring if she did or she didn't. She just wanted to tease David.

David leaned down so that his lips were almost brushing against Mary Margaret's, his breath ticking her face as he spoke. "Well, not really. She's a girl from your school that volunteers at the animal shelter but Jynx just says she's her intern because it makes her feel important. She slips her a couple of dollars under the table for every shift she works," David explained.

"Oh," Mary Margaret said. She leaned forward and closed the miniscule gap that was between them and pressed her lips onto David's, all thoughts of Jynx now forgotten. David leaned into the kiss, deepening it, while Mary Margaret's hands shot up to tangle in David's light brown locks. After a few moments, the couple pulled away from each other and smiled.

"C'mon, let's go," said David. He untangled himself from Mary Margaret and opened the car door for her. The teacher smiled at him – was there no end to his chivalry?

"Aren't you a Prince Charming?" she giggled, climbing into the truck.

"It has been said," David replied, shooting a wink at her. David walked round to the other side and climbed into the driver's seat. He ignited the engine and pulled out of his parking slot, leaving the animal shelter behind as he interlocked his fingers with Mary Margaret's over the console.

It was another few minutes before either of them spoke again, Mary Margaret being the first to break their comfortable silence. "So, are you going to tell me what mystery location you're taking me to?"

"The place where we first met," David replied, his eyes trained on the road.

Mary Margaret frowned and turned to glance at him. "The hospital?"

David chuckled. "I don't think me being comatose qualifies as our first meeting. There's a nice spot for a picnic next to the Toll Bridge that I spotted the other week when I was walking there."

Mary Margaret's mouth gaped slightly before she broke out in a gentle smile. David noticed that she was staring at him and flickered his eyes over to her briefly.

"What is it?" he chuckled.

"You must be the most thoughtful man I ever met," Mary Margaret blurted out. Realising what she had said, she flushed and turned away to focus back on the road. Jynx's laughter echoed in her head, mocking her for how sappy she was being. She didn't see the small smile that graced David's lips at her words.

David parked up on the Toll Bridge since no one ever went over it and opened his door. He appeared at Mary Margaret's side in an instant, ready to open the door for her. Reaching in the back of the trunk, Mary Margaret pulled out the picnic basket David had prepared and hopped out the truck, taking David's offered arm.

The couple strolled along to a small clearing in the trees and David laid the red blanket out for them. From where they say they still had a view of the small stream, with glimpses of the Toll Bridge peeking through the trees. David had actually done a really good job of assembling the picnic, even going as far as to include a small bottle of red wine for them to share. They were perfectly content to enjoy their food while gazing at their surroundings; their silence only interrupted by the birds chirping or an occasional comment from one of them.

After they had finished their food and wine, Mary Margaret lay down next to David on the blanket, her head resting on his chest as his muscular arms snaked around her waist. For what must have been the hundredth time today, Mary Margaret smiled to herself, not recalling a time where she had been happier than in that moment. She didn't know why she had struck so lucky with finding her Prince Charming when there were people like Jynx who seemed to have the worst luck in the world.

Mary Margaret wouldn't pretend that she was particularly close with the younger woman – she was pretty sure the only person Jynx was really close to was Ruby. She had no other family, certainly none that she talked to anyway, though Ruby might as well have been her sister for how close they were. If there was anyone in this world that truly deserved love, it was Jynx and Emma. They were both amazing people who were just extremely unlucky. Though that was the way the world worked, she supposed.

"What's wrong, Mary Margaret?" David asked suddenly, the volume of his deep voice causing the teacher to jump slightly.

Mary Margaret sat up slightly to look up at him. "What makes you think anything is wrong?" she replied innocently.

David raised an eyebrow at her. "Because I know you. When you're quiet for a long time you start to over think, and when your thoughts turn sour you get a little crease between your eyebrows, just here," David told her, lightly tracing the spot where she was frowning with his finger.

Mary Margaret sighed and lay back down, snuggling into David. He tightened his hold on her reflexively. "I just wish Emma and Jynx could be as happy as we are. It just doesn't seem fair, that we have everything and they seem to have nothing."

David tensed. "You're really that happy with me?" he asked quietly, looking down at Mary Margaret. She tilted her head up to look at him.

"Of course I am," she whispered back, a soft smile appearing on her face before she herself tensed up. "Are you?" she asked, almost timidly.

David didn't answer her in words, he simply swooped down to give her a bruising kiss, which Mary Margaret melted into immediately.

She pursed her lips once they drew back. "I'll take that as a yes, then?"

"Yes," David chuckled.

They smiled at each other for a moment before Mary Margaret began to frown again. She sighed and rested her head on David's chest once more. "Emma and Killian, the way they look at each other, it just makes me want to bang their heads together," she said. She felt a chuckle rumble through David's chest at her words.

"I know what you mean. Even if he's not consciously talking about her, Killian always finds a way to bring Emma up in conversation, like she's always on his mind."

"Emma does that, too. I catch her smiling to herself at all times of the day and I know for a fact she never used to do that before she started spending more and more time with Killian," Mary Margaret replied. "Why can't they just admit they're in love with each other? The whole town can see it, even if they can't!"

"They'll figure it out sooner or later," David said, pressing a kiss to Mary Margaret's hair.

"Well, I hope it's sooner rather than later," she grumbled.

* * *

A couple hours later, David and Mary Margaret decided that they should start heading home. After a quick make out session in front of her door, David and Mary Margaret parted ways with an agreement to see each other tomorrow. The teacher opened her door with a huge grin on her face which soon transformed into a confused expression at the sight she saw before her. A boy and a girl from her school, twins she thought, were sitting at her dining table with Henry, while Emma and Killian were behind the kitchen counter talking in hushed whispers. Upon her arrival, the two adults looked up and Emma beckoned her over silently. Flashing a quick smile over at the children, Mary Margaret placed her bag on the counter before joining Emma and Killian, who had walked over to the stairs.

"What's going on?" Mary Margaret questioned, sensing that the two officers were in some kind of trouble.

"We caught those two shoplifting earlier today," Killian began, crossing his leather clad arms over his chest. "They said their parents were struggling to pay the bills so Emma and I didn't take them in and question them, but Emma's super power flared up."

"Long story short – they don't have any parents," Emma interrupted, her green eyes shining with sympathy for the twins.

Mary Margaret's eyebrows shot up. "What do you mean they don't have any parents?"

"I mean they were living in a basement on scraps of what they could steal," Emma replied.

Killian disappeared and then came back, holding a file of papers on what must have been the kids. He handed the file to Emma who flashed him a grateful smile in response.

"Do you know them? Do they go to your school?" Emma asked Mary Margaret, flicking through the pages in the file.

"I've seen them, but I had no idea," Mary Margaret said, recalling times where she'd seen them around the corridors. "None of us did…"

"This isn't your fault, Mary Margaret. You weren't to know. Don't beat yourself up about it, love," Killian told her gently. Mary Margaret looked up at him and he winked at her, making her smile. That man was just so damn perfect for Emma; he could make just about anyone smile.

"Ava and Nicholas Zimmer. They said their mother was a woman named Dory Zimmer. No one seems to know or remember her," Emma said.

"And the father?" Mary Margaret inquired.

"There isn't one. At least not one that they know of," Emma replied, a crease forming between her eyebrows similar to the one David was telling Mary Margaret about earlier.

Mary Margaret folded her arms. "What do social services say?"

Emma and Killian looked at each other, before they gave a meaningful look to Mary Margaret. The teacher sighed. "You didn't report them," she realised.

"We report them, we can't help them. They go into the system," Emma stated.

"The system that's supposed to help?"

"Yeah, the system I knew and was in for sixteen years. Do you know what happens? They get thrown into homes where they are a meal ticket – nothing more. These families get paid for these kids and as soon as they're too much work they get tossed out and it all starts over again," Emma replied, her eyes imploring Mary Margaret to understand. Sometime during her small speech, Killian's hand dropped to intertwine with Emma's, knowing that it was still difficult for her to talk about her time in the system. It was part of the reason he agreed to give her some time before they called social services.

"But they're not all like that," Mary Margaret said, trying to make Emma see reason.

Emma gave her a sad smile. "All the ones I was in."

"What? We're just going to adopt them?" Mary Margaret asked sarcastically.

"I want to look for their father. They don't know him. He may not know they exist," Emma explained.

"There is a strong possibility," Killian backed her up, his thumb now rubbing smooth circle over the back of Emma's hand.

"And you think if he knows, he'll want them?" Mary Margaret asked, trying to think of every possible obstacle so as to not give anyone false hope.

"I don't know. But what I do know is it's hard enough to find foster families to take one kid that isn't theirs, let alone two. It's their best chance or…"

"We're going to be separated?" a small, teary voice asked. The adults' heads all snapped to the small blonde girl crying in front of them, clearly having heard the last part of their conversation. Emma knelt down in front of her, getting to her eye level.

"No. That's not gonna happen," Emma said with absolute conviction, placing her hands on Ava's shoulders.

"Swan," Killian said warningly.

"I'm not gonna let it," Emma said, looking at Killian. The two shared a look of desperation, Emma's needing to help these kids and Killian hoping that she wouldn't hurt herself in the process.

* * *

A girl of about eleven skipped along the sidewalk with her golden brown hair flying behind her. She came to a stop outside the animal shelter and pushed the door open. The animal shelter didn't have a bell since Jynx broke the last one when she slammed the door too hard as she was running away from an escaped Chihuahua, so there was technically supposed to be someone on the desk at all times. Of course, that was meant figuratively and not literally.

Jynx was sprawled across the front desk with her legs hanging off the edge at odd angles, completely dead to the world as she slept. The girl giggled quietly, and dumped her backpack on a chair beside the door before walking over to her boss.

She began to shake her arm lightly. "Jynx," she said gently, attempting to wake her up. When she didn't get a response, she decided to risk it. The girl did her best impression of a dog barking, and Jynx sat bolt upright, almost smacking the young girl in the face.

Jynx looked around wildly, looking for the dog, and breathed a sigh of relief when her eyes landed on the girl cracking up in the reception area.

"Paige," she breathed out, placing a hand over her chest to steady her racing heart. "Don't do that to a girl!"

"I'm sorry, Jynx," Paige wheezed out in between her fits of laughter. "But you wouldn't wake up."

After a few moments of glaring at her, Jynx couldn't help the small smirk which spread across her face as she watched Paige laugh, and soon enough she was joining in with her laughter. They both sighed at the same time, getting over their laughing fit. Jynx hopped off the counter, suddenly full of life compared to her comatose self just moments previously.

"C'mon, kid. The sooner you feed the dogs, the sooner we can get down to the real work," Jynx said, opening the hatch that lead to behind the counter. Paige walked through and grabbed a bag of dog food from under the desk.

"You sure you don't want to wait as long as possible for me to beat you at cards, Jynx?" Paige asked slyly, adopted her boss's smirk.

"Nuh-uh, not today, kid. Today we're gonna play something a little different than snap," the older girl said.

Paige paused just before she opened the door to the dog room and placed the bad of dry dog food at her feet. "What we gonna do?" she asked eagerly.

Jynx leaned back and propped her elbows up on the counter behind her. "Do not tell your parents that I'm teaching you how to play this – they already think I'm too much of a bad influence on you – but we're gonna play poker. That way when you actually start playing poker with all the guys from your school you can trick them into thinking that you're just a girl who doesn't have any clue what she's doing, when in reality you'll be a pro. You're a girl, Paige, and that is your biggest advantage," Jynx said with a wink.

The younger girl smirked at Jynx, before she picked up the bag and walked into the room full of barking dogs. Once she had gone in, Jynx smiled and turned round the face the counter, propping her face up on her hands. Jynx's parents were quite… conservative in the sense that they thought Paige shouldn't play card games, or lug bags of dog food around. That was a man's work. And Jynx hated that with a passion, considering she was basically the embodiment of everything they didn't want Paige to become. So it irritated them to no end to know that Paige idolised Jynx, and there was nothing they could do about it now. She just felt like it would be such a waste for Paige to become what her parents wanted her to be when Jynx knew she could be much more than that. She was an incredibly beautiful girl, with a kind heart to match, and she had a good mind, too.

"Okay, I'm done!" Paige exclaimed, coming back into the room and interrupting Jynx's thoughts. Jynx turned round and beamed at the girl.

"Pull up a chair, kid," Jynx said. She sat down in her 'spinny chair', as she liked to call it, and reached across her desk to grab a packet of cards. Paige plonked herself down into the other chair and wheeled herself over to sit beside Jynx, her legs swinging back and forward since they didn't quite touch the ground.

Jynx took the card out of the packet and gave them a good shuffle while she talked. "Now, the secret to playing a good poker game isn't the hand you've got, it's the face you wear," she explained, pulling a funny face to make Paige giggle. "It's all in the eyes, you see, you've got to be completely aware of everything your opponent does and everything that you do. Otherwise," Jynx dropped a few cards for emphasis, "all you'll be picking up is cards instead of chips."

Paige raised an eyebrow at her dramatics, and Jynx rolled her eyes as she leaned over to pick the cards up. As her fingers touched the last card, an image of red lips curling into a cruel smile flashed behind her eyes, making her gasp and jerk back.

"Jynx?" Paige questioned, concerned. "You okay?"

Jynx blinked a couple of times before turning back to Paige and smiling. "Yeah, I just forgot to tell you something. We have a new white rabbit in and I know how much you like them. Fancy going to take a look at him before we get started on our game?" Jynx evaded smoothly.

"Really?" Paige squealed excitedly. Without waiting for a reply, Paige jumped out of the seat and ran into the opposite room to meet her new friend. Jynx smirked. The girl was obsessed with white rabbits. She turned to look down at the card, which was face down, on the floor. Hesitating slightly, Jynx picked it up and placed it on the counter face up. _Of course it would be you,_ Jynx thought. _The Queen of Hearts._

She stared at the card for what seemed like a lifetime, but no more flashes or images came to her. Suddenly, a prickly feeling ran down the back of her neck, making her hair stand on end. She glanced over to the window, and got up out of her seat to walk over to the glass. Pushing the blinds down to peer out, she looked into the deserted street. The funny thing was that Jynx had the strangest feeling that somebody was watching her.


	15. Chapter 14: False Hope

**Hey, everyone! So my first week of sixth from hasn't actually been as bad as I thought it was going to be and I've had a lot more free time this week so... surprise! You're getting an update just a week after a posted the last one! I am on a roll here. So I know some of you were a bit bummed that there was no Captain Swan in the last chapter but don't worry there is lots of Captain Swan in this chapter! I feel like I should warn you now that because this story is so big and has so many different elements and characters that not every chapter will be focused on CS because I need to explore other arcs within my story such as Jack and Jynx and the other ships in OUAT. But Captain Swan are still my OTP so they are a primary concern of this story. Also, I feel like I should let you know that I plan on making a tumblr for this fic, but I don't know when. I'll be putting fanart of my fic up on there courtesy of my amazing artist friend who loves OUAT just as much as I do (seriously, the things she can do with pens, pencils, paints, chalk, I wouldn't be surprised if she drew in crayon and it was a masterpiece!) and also maybe some teasers of chapters and storylines I've got going. How would y'all feel about that, you think it's a good idea? I'm gonna cut the rambling short now after my special shout out to Anne Nonymus and Magicalwardbrobe whose reviews never fail to make me smile. Also, I've reached 50 favourites now, how insane is that? You guys are seriously the best! And one more thing, thanks to everyone who commented on Jynx, my friend was so buzzed about it that she even made an account on here, which is We'reAllJynx'dHere for those of you who read the reviews as she reviewed to let me know she'd made her account. Actually, two more things but this is the last thing, I swear! Do you guys like the way I structure the episodes or do you feel I jump around a bit too much? Like it makes sense in my head but I have a weird thought process that might be difficult for you guys to follow. So let me know if you would prefer me to jump around a little less and make the chapter flow more like an episode would, although episodes of OUAT kinda jump around a lot as well... Okay, now I'm really cutting the ramblings short. Hope you enjoy! ~WG**

* * *

Chapter 14: False Hope

Emma could feel Killian glancing at her worriedly out of the corner of his eye before he turned back to concentrate on the road. He'd been doing that ever since they'd left Ava and Nicholas back at Mary Margaret's loft, and even more so now that they had found out Regina had arranged for them to go separate homes in Boston. Seeing Killian open his mouth to say something, Emma cut him off before he got a chance to speak.

"I'm fine, Killian."

The sheriff raised his eyebrows at her, glancing at her briefly before training his eyes on the road once more. "I never said you weren't, Swan," he said innocently.

Emma turned her head with a soft smile on her face. "Really? 'Cause you keep looking at me like I'm about to spontaneously combust at any second," she said.

Killian parked the police cruiser up outside the station before he sighed. "I just hope you're ready for the worst possible scenario with these kids," he admitted, turning to look at her with his sea blue eyes.

Emma frowned. "There won't be a worst possible scenario, we have a plan, remember?"

"Swan, I know that you will try your best for them, because that's just the type of person you are," Killian said, causing a pink tinge to appear in Emma's cheeks. "But what if their father doesn't want them. I know it sounds inconceivable to you after everything you've been through with Henry, but some parents really just don't give a damn," Killian explained.

Emma's gaze dropped towards her hands as she twiddled her thumbs. "Believe me, it's not all that inconceivable," she muttered, so quietly that if Killian hadn't have been completely silent he wouldn't have heard it. A warm pair of hands engulfed her smaller ones, and Emma looked up to see Killian's azure eyes boring into her verdant ones.

"I told you once before that I have absolute faith in you, Emma. And I do. But are you sure that you're not just kidding yourself into believing that their father will definitely want them… just because that's what you want?" he asked apprehensively.

Emma tensed slightly, but was careful not to let it show in her face; though she had no doubt Killian probably knew she how she was feeling anyway. "What I want for the twins, or what I want for myself?" she asked, her eyes never leaving Killian's.

Killian gave her a sad smile. "The fact you even have to ask that question should give you your answer," Killian sighed.

Emma knew he was right of course. She just didn't want to face it, because admitting that someone could willingly turn their child away was just something Emma couldn't accept. She wouldn't even consider the idea that her own parents had gave her up simply because they wanted to.

Emma pursed her lips and glanced down at their intertwined hands. It amazed her how comfortable she had become with physical contact with Killian, not to mention how close they were now. When Graham had died they both sought out comfort from one another, so the occasional hand holding when one of them needed it wasn't exactly new to them.

The first week after Graham had been difficult to say the least, especially for Killian. For once, he was the one that needed reassurance rather than Emma, so whenever he needed her, Emma was always there. Sometimes they would talk about him, sometimes she would just hold Killian for what seemed like hours while he grieved for his friend. It was the first time she had ever really been so incredibly connected with someone, the first time she had ever wanted to be that connected with someone. Even Neal had never opened up to her like Killian did. The way she felt about Killian was so different to how she had felt about Neal. Neal was a whirlwind – it was fast and exciting and passionate. But her feelings for Killian had been gradual at first, barely even there, and then all of a sudden she had all these emotions and she didn't know what to do with them. They just came out of nowhere and hit her like a speeding truck. Every touch they exchanged sent electricity running down her spine, and she didn't think she would ever get used to it, or even if she wanted to get used to it.

Emma wouldn't go as far as to call them a couple – she wasn't ready for that yet – but she had been thinking about herself and Killian in that light more and more often. The fear of Killian leaving her and breaking her heart like Neal did was still prominent, but it was moments like this that made her realise that fear was irrational in this case. Deep down, she knew Killian would never leave her, for his feelings ran equally as deep as her own. She could see it whenever he looked at her with his startling blue eyes, in every smile that he flashed, in every wink he shot at her. He never voiced his feelings other than a couple of more requests for her to have dinner with him for fear that he would scare her off, but Emma still knew.

Emma's thoughts wandered back to the matter at hand – she could deal with Killian later, right now she had a father to find.

Emma returned her gaze to Killian. "I have to try," she told him, her eyes shining slightly with unshed tears.

Killian smiled one of his real, genuine smiles at her. "That's all any of us can do, Swan," he told her with a wink. They smiled at each other for a couple more moments while Emma composed herself, and just like a flip had been switched, they were back to laughing and joking with each other.

* * *

Another two hours of rifling through files at the station and Emma and Killian had still found nothing that could help them find the twins' father. Emma closed the file she was reading and dumped it on her desk. She stood up and sighed, running a hand through her long blonde tresses.

Killian glanced up from the file he was looking out to look at the flustered woman standing over her desk. "Don't give up yet, Swan. He's bound to show up sooner or later," he said, his eyes returning to the pages on his lap.

Emma sighed, plonking herself in her chair. "What makes you so sure he's even in Storybrooke still? This guy could be in Laos by now," she pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"No, he's still here," Killian replied without glancing up.

Emma frowned. "How do you know that?"

The sheriff looked up and smirked at her. "The curse, of course. No one can leave Storybrooke, remember?"

"He's right," Henry said as he walked into the office.

"See?" Killian said to Emma, shooting Henry a quick smile.

Emma resisted to roll her eyes at the man – he loved to gang up on her with Henry. "I came here," she said, pointing out the flaw in their theory.

Killian leaned back in his chair and crossed his feet on his desk, something he only did when he was feeling particularly laid back or cocky. "Ah, but you're special, Swan," he flirted, winking at her.

"You're the first stranger here – ever," Henry said, oblivious to the flush that appeared on Emma's cheeks at Killian's words. "I know who they are," Henry continued, pulling out his story book as he hopped onto Killian's desk. The sheriff ruffled the boy's hair before he spoke again. "They're brother and sister, lost, no parents – Hansel and Gretel."

"Anything in there about the dad?" Emma inquired.

Henry shrugged. "Just that he abandoned them."

"Nothing new there, then," Killian said, turning to Emma with an arched eyebrow.

Emma frowned, wondering how on earth they were gonna find this guy.

"Can you tell me about him?" Henry asked, swinging his legs back and forward because his feet didn't touch the ground.

"I don't know anything yet," Emma replied.

"Not their father – mine," Henry elaborated. Emma felt her stomach dropped and her eyes flashed over to Killian. His own eyes flicked up to meet her gaze, clearly curious as to what she was going to say. "I told you about your parents, now you're living with your mom," Henry pointed out.

"Mary Margaret isn't… she's… never mind…" Emma said, looking at the desk instead of at Henry.

"Please?" Henry prompted.

Emma made the mistake of looking up at him, and knew that she couldn't say no to him. But she couldn't tell him the truth about Neal either. She wouldn't have Henry thinking that his father was a complete waste of space.

"I was pretty young. I'd just gotten out of the foster system and the only job I could get was at this twenty-four hour diner just off the interstate. And, um… your dad was training to be a fireman," Emma said. She smiled at the fantasy, knowing that Henry would appreciate the hero element. "He always got the worst shifts, and he'd come in and order coffee and pie and sit at the counter… and always complain that we didn't sell pumpkin pie. But he always came back the next night anyway," she lied easily. Her gaze flickered over to Killian to see him staring at her as if it was the first time he was seeing her.

"Did you get married?" Henry asked, his childhood innocence coming through.

Emma and Killian chuckled at him. "No, nothing like that. We just… we hung out a few times outside of work and… life happened. His got better and mine got worse and… I got into some trouble," she admitted, frowning slightly. "I went to jail for a while. But before I went I found out I was pregnant with you. And I tried to contact him," Emma tailed off, knowing that this would hurt Henry, even though the truth would have been worse for both of them. "And I found out that he died, saving a family from a burning apartment building. So, you think I'm a saviour, Henry – he was. Your father was a real hero."

Henry beamed at her, clearly proud of the father he never had and Emma couldn't help but smile back at him.

Emma noticed Killian was being uncharacteristically quiet, even his face was completely blank.

"Do you have anything of his?" Henry asked, drawing Emma's attention back to him. "Something you can remember him by? Something I can see?"

Emma thought for a moment. She didn't want to remember Neal when he had first left her, so she didn't keep anything of his, except the keyring he gave her, but it was hardly an important item like her baby blanket…

 _Her baby blanket!_

"I don't. Henry, I'm sorry. We've got to go. I think I may know how to find this guy," Emma said, glancing at Killian to let him know she'd had an idea.

"It's okay, I'd better get back home anyway before my mom gets back," Henry said, jumping off Killian's desk.

"Well, we'll drop you off on our way," Killian told him. He stood next to the boy and placed an arm round his shoulders before smiling at him. Emma hung back slightly and couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Killian and Henry had spent so much time together, it almost made Emma feel like an outsider. As if sensing her discomfort, Killian turned and flashed a smile at Emma, his earlier mood swing having disappeared. "Coming, Swan? I'm just dying to know what this brilliant idea of yours is," he commented sarcastically.

Emma rolled her eyes and walked over to stand on Henry's other side, slipping her hand into her son's as if it was the most natural thing in the world before the three of them walked out of the station together.

* * *

"Remind me how an old compass is going to help us, Swan?" Killian wondered as they drove through town.

Emma turned the antique compass over in her hands. "Not many compasses like this kicking around in Storybrooke, is there? It looks pretty rare," Emma said.

Killian furrowed his brow. "So?"

"So, who's gonna know where someone could buy something like that? Or even better, who bought it?" Emma prompted.

Killian's hands gripped the wheel a little tighter. "Gold," he practically growled. There was something distinctly off about that man. Killian didn't trust him at the best of times but it was more than that. The man had tried to buy a baby, for God's sake!

"I know you don't like him, but he's pretty much our only option now," Emma said, turning her head to look at Killian. She could practically feel the tension and anticipation rolling off him in waves, so it was no surprise to see the muscle in his cheek jumping, something that only happened when he was trying to stay calm.

Killian sighed, some of the tension easing out of his shoulders. "I don't dislike him, per say. More like I don't trust him," he explained.

"I don't trust him either," Emma admitted. "But he always honours his agreements."

"You already owe him a favour, Swan," Killian pointed out.

"I know, but what other choice do we have?"

Killian's nostrils flared, realising that they didn't have another choice. Sighing dejectedly, he turned the corner and pulled up next to the pawn brokers. "I don't like this plan," he said grumpily, before getting out the car.

Emma got out and shut her door, before resting her elbows on the roof of the car to stare at Killian on the opposite side. "You don't have to like it. You just have to hope it works," she said, raising an eyebrow at him. Without waiting for a reply, she turned and walked into the shop. Killian waited for a few seconds before giving in, and reluctantly followed Emma into the pawn brokers.

Gold looked up from behind his counter at the two officers that walked in. "Sheriff Jones, Deputy Swan. What can I do for you?" he greeted them with a sly smile. The very sight of him made Killian want to punch him in his teeth, but he managed to be pleasant for Emma's sake.

"We're looking for information on this old compass," Killian said as Emma produced said compass from her pocket.

"Any idea where it could have come from?" Emma asked him.

Gold took the compass off the counter and examined it. He raised his eyebrows slightly as he turned it over in his hands and looked at it from every possible angle. "Well, well," he admired. "Look at the detail. You know, this is crystal. This jewelled setting… despite the rather unfortunate shape it's in, this is a rather unusual piece. The person who owned this object obviously had great taste." Gold paused for a minute before he glanced up at Killian. "Ever owned a compass, Sheriff. They're fascinating objects."

Killian shifted slightly, uncomfortable with being asked a direct question by Gold. "Can't say that I've ever had a reason to own one," he replied with a tight smile.

 _The dimly candlelit room swayed with the waves chucking the ship around, and Killian dug his hook into the wood of his desk, pinning the chain his compass was attached to in place so that it wouldn't slide off the edge…_

As soon as Killian blinked again, the strange image had disappeared and he was back in the pawn brokers with Emma and Gold. He frowned slightly, wondering what on earth had just happened. He caught sight of the small smirk Gold was wearing and suddenly felt very uneasy, like the pawn broker knew something he didn't. Luckily, Emma hadn't seen his small lapse in concentration as she was too focused on the compass in front of them.

"Do you know where someone would buy this particular fascinating object?" Emma pressed, gesturing to the compass between them.

"Right here, of course," Gold replied.

"Do you remember who bought it?" Killian asked.

"I'm good with names, Sheriff, but maybe not that good. However," he said, walking towards a small filing cabinet on the other counter. "As luck would have it, I do keep quite extensive records." He began rifling through the papers. "Yes, here we are."

There was a pause.

"What's your price?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Forgiveness," Gold said. "I know you're still angry with me over that baby business."

"You tried to pressure a young girl into selling her child because she was vulnerable, what did you expect?" Killian shot at him.

Gold just looked at him calmly. "That's just the nature of my deals, Sheriff. Sometimes they're more scandalous than others."

"How about tolerance?" Emma said, ignoring the tension bubbling between the two men.

Gold turned his head back to Emma, ignoring the holes Killian was burning into his head with his glare. "Well, that's a start. The compass was purchased by Mr Michael Tillman."

"Anything else?"

Gold shook his head. "Just a name. But I generally find that's all one needs."

Emma nodded her head. "Thanks for your time. Killian," she said, grabbing the sheriff's attention and urging him towards the door before he did something he would regret.

As the pair walked away, the pawn broker spoke up. "Don't forget, you still owe me a favour, Miss Swan. You may be tolerant of my deal but I still didn't get my prize. But that's for another time, I just hope you find this man for the sake of those two children. After all," Gold said, now moving his attention to Killian. "It is a terrible fate for any child to be separated from their parent for their whole life. Be it mother or father," he said menacingly.

Killian glared at the older man, but before he could do anything he felt Emma's hand on his wrist, tugging him towards the door.

* * *

Emma slammed the door of the police cruiser and stared out of the windscreen. Killian got in the driver's seat next to her, but didn't turn the engine on. Instead, he reached across and held Emma's hand, which was shaking. She welcomed the comfort, and turned her fist palm upwards so that she could lace her fingers with Killian over the console.

"What am I gonna tell them?" she asked quietly, scared to increase her volume in case her voice cracked. She felt as though she'd been hit in the ribs with a sledgehammer when Michael told her and Killian that he couldn't take care of his kids.

"The truth," Killian said, also looking straight ahead through the windscreen. "That we tried to find their father, but…"

"But what? That he didn't want them? I can't tell them that, it'll crush them!"

"They're going to be crushed anyway, Emma," Killian pointed out.

Emma's heart sunk even further. That's right, they would be separated.

The deputy sighed and gave Killian's hand a squeeze which he returned.

"Hey," he said, making Emma turn her head to look at him. "We'll tell them together, alright?"

Emma smiled at him sadly and nodded, before detaching her hand from his.

After a silent journey to Mary Margaret's loft, the officers got out the car and Emma called Mary Margaret.

The teacher picked up after the second ring. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me. I need you to come outside right away," Emma said with a sour expression on her face. She hated what she was about to have to tell them.

"Is everything okay?" Mary Margaret asked.

Emma glanced over at Killian who shared her sombre expression. "Don't say anything in front of the kids, but no, it's not."

Mary Margaret appeared in the street next to the two officers within the next minute.

"He doesn't want the kids," Killian told her bluntly.

"And you don't wanna tell them?" Mary Margaret said, mainly addressing Emma.

"I can't. Because all I'll be telling them is that the false hope I gave them is exactly that."

"The truth can be painful, Emma. But it can also be cathartic," Mary Margaret said sympathetically.

"I agree with you on the painful part," Emma said, crossing her arms over her chest. Killian wrapped an arm round her shoulders and rubbed her arm gently, causing Emma to relax into him slightly. "Maybe we can hide the kids. Just until we find a family for them. Someone to take care of them," Emma suggested desperately.

"Yes, hiding the twelve-year-olds is a good plan," Mary Margaret remarked sarcastically.

"I have to agree with Mary Margaret on this one, Swan," Killian said reluctantly.

"Well do either of you two have a better idea?" Emma asked, looking between them.

"Emma, maybe there isn't an idea. Maybe you just have to…"

"Sheriff, Deputy," Regina called from behind them. The two officers whipped around to see the Mayor stalking towards them. Killian dropped his arm from Emma's shoulders. "Shouldn't one of you be on the interstate by now?"

"What are you doing here?" Killian asked, glaring at Regina.

"Seeing to it that you do your job," she retorted.

"You know you don't have to check up on us. We know what we have to do," Emma said, finally admitting it to herself more than anyone else.

"Really? Because those kids are supposed to be in Boston tonight," Regina said maliciously.

Emma and Killian looked at each other.

"I'll go and get the kids," Emma said, turning away.

"Swan," Killian started.

"It should be me that takes them, Killian. I'm the one who gave them false hope."

With a final glare towards Regina, Emma walked up to the loft to collect the kids. After a lot of tantrums and a lot of tears, Emma, Ava and Nicholas were finally standing outside of the squad car with what little belongings they had in the boot. Emma opened the car door for them and gestured for them to get in.

"Come on. It's going to be…" Emma trailed off. What was it going to be? Okay? Because this was definitely not okay. "Here," Emma said, handing the compass back to Ava. Emma looked up at Killian miserably, who gave her a small reassuring smile. Emma returned his smile slightly, before turning back to Ava and Nicholas. "I'm sorry, but we got to go," Emma said sincerely.

Ava and Nicholas reluctantly got into the back of the car. With one last look at Killian, he winked at her and Emma got into the car. She really hoped their plan would work. Before she had even gotten her seatbelt on, Henry was at her window.

"No, you can't take them! They can't leave Storybrooke, Emma! They can't. Something bad will happen," Henry insisted.

Emma looked up at Henry with sad eyes. This must have been hard on him, too; he had finally made new friends in Ava and Nicholas and now they were being ripped away from him.

"Something bad's already happened, kid," Emma said, before igniting the engine. Killian came to stand behind Henry and placed his hands on his shoulders, pulling the boy back slightly. Without looking at either of them for fear she'd lose her nerve, Emma pulled away and drove towards the outskirts of town.

* * *

Things were intense inside the car, Emma could barely breathe. The twins were completely silent in the back of the car, and Emma had no idea what to say to them. Suddenly, the engine started malfunctioning and the car grinded to a halt just before the crossed the town line.

"You've got to be kidding me," Emma said, after trying and failing to restart the engine.

"What's happened? What's wrong?" Ava asked, the girl being the most talkative of the pair.

"The engine's stalled," Emma explained, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

"Who are you calling?" the girl asked.

"Help," Emma replied simply, dialling Michael's number.

Emma got out of her car ten minutes later to meet Michael on the road. The mechanic got out of his car and walked towards Emma, before he came to a stop as he noticed the twins in the back of the car.

"Those are them?" he asked.

"Those are them," Emma confirmed.

The mechanic nodded, realising what was going on. "And your car – it's fine?"

"I just wanted you to see them," Emma explained. "Just once. I didn't think I could do it either. I gave Henry up because I wanted to give him his best shot. When I saw that he didn't have it, I couldn't leave. I was just as scared – more, probably. But once I saw him, got to know him, I couldn't go back."

"You're taking them? To Boston?" Michael asked.

"I don't have to," Emma said hopefully. _Please, please, please, don't say that I have to…_

"No, you don't," the mechanic replied determinedly. He walked past Emma and crouched down outside the window of the car, and Emma couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.

* * *

Emma almost jumped out of her skin when someone knocked on her car window. She turned to the side and saw Killian holding two cups of coffee, his leather jacket zipped up due to the cold. Emma put her file away and got out of the car to meet him.

"How did you know where I was?" Emma asked, taking the cup from him gratefully.

Killian shrugged and leaned against the yellow bug next to her. "I figured today would have brought up a lot of old feelings for you. I thought you might have wanted to gather your thoughts away from everyone else, and this ridiculous yellow car is the only thing that can actually grant you any privacy, since no one would voluntarily come anyway near the damn thing."

Emma smiled at him, wondering just when he had gotten to know her so well. "You came near it. In fact you're leaning against it right now," she pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him.

"It wasn't the car I came to see, love," he said simply, his eyes holding the intensity that his simple statement didn't deliver.

Usually, Emma would have been caught up in the moment of staring into Killian's startling blue eyes, but this time she let her gaze drop to her coffee cup.

"What's wrong, Swan? I can tell this is more than just your parents," the sheriff asked her.

"I lied to Henry," she said simply, not meeting his eye.

"I know," Killian said, before taking a sip from his coffee cup. Emma whipped her head round to look at him, shocked that he knew. The sheriff glanced at her before he sighed. "I know that a guy you 'hung out with a few times' that died in a fire wouldn't be the reason you were so broken-hearted when I first met you, Emma."

Emma nodded, her gaze unfocused on anything in particular. "I met Neal when I was stealing a car. This car, actually," she began. "Turns out, the car I had stolen was actually already a stolen car. From there, we made a living of robbing convenient stores and squatting in empty houses. It wasn't ideal, but we had each other and that was all that mattered," she continued, smiling softly at her old memories, the ones before everything went to shit. "Then one day Neal saw himself on a wanted poster for these expensive watches he'd stolen years ago. We'd just been talking about settling down somewhere, and this was going to completely ruin it. He stashed them in a locker at the train station, and I said I would go and pick them up for him since the police didn't know I was working with him."

At some point during her story, Killian's arm had snaked round her shoulders once more. Knowing what direction this story was going to take, Killian sighed and closed his eyes, giving Emma's shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

"He gave me a watch to keep and told me to meet him at the docks at nine. When I got there the only person waiting for me was a cop," Emma said, her emotions finally getting the better of her as she started to cry. "Neal set me up and made me take the fall for him, leaving me pregnant with Henry. The only thing I had when I got out was this damn car," Emma snivelled.

Killian pulled her towards him and held her tightly, kissing the top of her head. He could barely speak because of all the rage he felt. There were two things he was absolutely certain of though. One, if he were to ever find this Neal then someone would have to hold him back because the end result would not be pretty. Two, there wouldn't be a force on this earth that would stop Killian from making Emma feel any less loved for the rest of her life. He would make sure that her heart never broke again, and every day he would honour this silent vow he made. Of course, it wouldn't be easy, nothing with this woman ever was, but he was never one to shy away from a challenge.

"You have so much more than just this damn car now, Emma," Killian said into her hair. Emma pulled back from him and looked up at him. Killian's hands came to either side of her face and he brushed the pads of his thumbs underneath her eyes to wipe away her tears. The blonde smiled up at him, the sadness melting away until all that was left was Killian and herself. And Henry, of course.

"Hey," Henry said. The two sprang apart from each other like they had been burned, not that Henry noticed anyway. "I thought you guys might like some pumpkin pie. It was pumpkin, right?" Henry asked doubtfully, seeing Emma's expression.

"Right," she said smiling at him. Henry walked over to them and settled himself between the two officers, who looked over the top of his head and grinned at one another.

"What you guys did – saving Ava and Nicholas – you really are changing things. Both of you," Henry said, glancing up at Emma and Killian. The pair smiled down at the boy, before the rumbling of a motorbike turned their attention to the right. A man wearing black leather stopped in front of them and turned the engine off so he could talk to them.

"Hi," the man said.

"Hey," Emma replied, although she was a little hesitant. Killian instinctively placed an arm round Henry's shoulders.

"Is this Storybrooke?" he asked.

"Aye, it is," Killian responded.

"Any place to get a room around here?"

"Uh, you're staying?" Henry asked. Killian frowned as well. He couldn't remember the last time someone had come to stay in Storybrooke besides Emma.

"That's the plan," the stranger replied.

"Granny's Bed and Breakfast is just up the road – another two blocks," Emma said.

"Thank you," he replied, before turning back to his motorbike.

Killian eyes the stranger cautiously. There was something about him that he didn't trust, and usually his gut instinct was right. "Sorry, mate. I didn't catch your name," Killian shouted after him.

The stranger looked up on bike and smirked at him. "Oh, that's 'cause I didn't give it," he said sarcastically. Before Killian could respond, the bike roared to life and took off in the direction of Granny's. The trio turned to watch the bike before it turned the corner and disappeared out of sight.

"I thought you said strangers don't come to Storybrooke," Emma said.

"They don't," Henry and Killian replied at the same time. Killian couldn't put his finger on what it was, but he had a foreboding that things were about change even more than they already. He was so wrapped up in wondering whether this change would be good or bad that he didn't notice the pain in his left hand…


	16. Chapter 15: Strangers in the Night

**Hi everyone! Guess who is the worst updater in the world? This gal! I know, I'm not proud, but I have been hella busy recently. I've started sixth form now and my A level choices are just ridiculous, I went to South Africa for a bit, I've recently got back with my boyfriend, so yeah, this story has kinda been sitting on the back burning. But I'm not abandoning it! I just needed a lot of time which I don't have. I've also got mock exams coming up so things are pretty hectic. Anyway, about this chapter, there's a little bit of everything really. Bit of CS, bit of Jynx, bit of Jack and Liza, even a bit if August. Oh, and before you all come and tell me, I know August is older in the show but I made him younger for my own purposes, it's important to the storyline in the near and far future. However, after this chapter I am really gonna be getting the ball rolling with CS and it's all getting started on Valentine's Day (omg I love that episode!). Keep reviewing and giving me PM, I know I'm crap for updates but I need love with these reviews and you guys are seriously the best for staying with me. Huge shoutout to Magicalwardrobe for being so supportive and just everyone in general, I love you guys!**

* * *

Chapter 15: Strangers In The Night

Henry was just grabbing his school bag off his bed when from his window he saw a dark figure standing outside his house. The boy frowned at the stranger whom he had briefly met a couple of days ago and decided that he should go talk to him, in aid of Operation Cobra. Sneaking past his mother who was touching up her makeup in the mirror, he crept out of the house and walked down the path to find the stranger tinkering with his bike.

"What are you doing here?" Henry asked once he was close enough.

The stranger looked up from what he was doing and fixed Henry with his pale blue eyes. "Fixing my bike," he replied easily.

Now that he was in the light, and Henry was much closer to him, he could see that the stranger wasn't as old as he thought he was. He was younger than Emma and Killian, maybe around twenty three or so. Though his eyes were blue, they weren't like Killian's – the stranger's were a much lighter shade, and held more mystery than the sheriff's did. Having said that, he did dress quite similar to Killian, with his dark jeans and black leather jacket.

Henry shook his head slightly. "No, I mean in Storybrooke."

The man moved across to fix his back tire, his view of Henry partially obstructed by a large wooden box. "Just visiting," he replied vaguely.

"What's that?" the boy asked, the object having caught his attention.

The stranger stood up. "A box."

"What's inside it?"

"Just something I need to do what I came here for," the stranger replied, obviously getting fed up with all the questions Henry was asking.

The boy frowned even more. "I thought you said you were just visiting."

The stranger got on his motorbike and smirked at Henry. "Doesn't mean I don't have something to do," he replied. He ignited the engine and the bike roared to life.

"Henry!"

The boy turned around slightly, seeing his mother walking towards him concerned. The stranger must have heard her too, because shortly after he drove off.

"Better get to school. Looks like a storm's coming," he said ominously, before taking off on his bike just before Regina reached them. The mayor placed a hand on Henry's shoulder as they both watched the stranger drive away.

"Henry, who was that?" Regina asked him, a frown appearing on her face.

Having no answers for her, Henry simply shrugged. He would have to find out more about this newcomer in town.

* * *

Mary Margaret and David walked arm in arm towards Granny's, clinging onto each other closely because of the wind that was whipping around them.

"Let me see it again," Mary Margaret said enthusiastically, looking up at her boyfriend.

David sighed but humoured her nonetheless, and pulled his new Deputy's badge out of his pocket to show her.

Mary Margaret smiled. "I just can't believe it, this is the perfect job for you!"

"How do you mean?" David asked her.

"You're a good man, David. I know that you'll do whatever it takes to protect this town, even if all it needs protecting from is the occasional parking ticket," Mary Margaret teased him, a small smirk appearing on her lips.

"Is that so?" David flirted back, swooping down to catch her lips in a light peck before they entered Granny's. "Go get us a seat, I'll get the coffees," he said untangling himself from the teacher. She smiled at him, before walking off to sit down in a nearby booth.

David took a seat at the counter and asked Ruby for two coffees.

"I guess congratulations are in order, _Deputy_ ," a voice sneered from beside him.

David turned his head and was surprised to see Jynx sitting next to him. He didn't realise it was her, but she had blonde hair with a grey beanie shoved over her head this week rather than her usual bright colour. He winced slightly at the sharp tone in her voice and how she wouldn't look at him, opting to stare straight forward as she held her coffee cup in both hands.

"Thanks, Jynx," he replied awkwardly. "How are things at the animal shelter?" he asked in an attempt to make conversation with her. Bad move.

The petite blonde turned to look at him sharply, her violet eyes framed by her thick rimmed glasses. "Things are great, thanks for asking," she said, a fake smile plastered on her face. "Not that you care, though, since you left me in the lurch there on my own." Her smile dropped, and she turned back to face the wall. David sighed, remembering what her reaction had been when he first told her about the deputy job…

 _David took a deep breath before working into work that day. The last day he would call it his place of work. He pushed the door open, and greeted the shelter's own cat as he normally would._

" _Hey there, Mittens, how you doing?" he said, bending down to rub behind the feline's ears. The cat soon got bored and walked away from him, presumably to find Jynx. It's not that Mittens didn't like David, she just preferred Jynx._

" _Well, that's a sight to see. Have I finally shown you the way of the light by being a cat person?" Jynx's said, smirking down at David as she leaned against the counter._

" _In your dreams, Jynx," he replied, standing up and walking towards the younger girl. It was quite comical when they stood next to each other because David absolutely towered over her, but there was never any doubt who was in charge._

 _Jynx rolled her eyes and smiled at him. "C'mon, the dogs need feeding, that's the reason why you were hired," she said jokingly._

 _David smiled uneasily. "Yeah, sure was."_

 _Before Jynx could say anything else that would make him feel even worse he got a bag of dry dog food and walked into the dogs' room, knowing that she wouldn't follow him in there. The rest of the day was pretty similar to that, even when they were locking up for the night. However, before David could put his jacket on to leave, Jynx wheeled a chair towards him._

" _Sit down," she said, her arms folded across her chest._

 _David raised an eyebrow at her, but sat down anyway. Jynx took a seat on the desk opposite him. "Okay, spill. What is up with you? You've been acting weirdly all day. Is it Mary Margaret? Do I need to go and beat her up? 'Cause I know she's a sweet little teacher but I will fuck her up if I have to, you know that right?" Jynx said._

 _However nervous he was feeling about telling her this, David couldn't help but chuckle at her. Trust Jynx to be so endearing while threatening to beat his girlfriend up if she'd hurt him. "No, it's not Mary Margaret, Jynx," he replied._

 _Jynx's shoulders sagged with relief. "Thank God, because I really wouldn't want to beat here up, she's just too nice!" she replied, and they both started laughing. "Seriously though," she said, when silence fell once more. "What's up?"_

 _David looked down at the floor before glancing back up to her concerned violet eyes. "A couple of days ago, Killian and I went out for our usual drink at The Rabbit Hole," David began. Jynx nodded at him, urging him to continue. "And he offered me a job… as a deputy, full time," David said timidly, waiting for Jynx to explode. Surprisingly, all she did was smile at him almost… sympathetically?_

" _I get it," she said. "You and Killian have fallen out because you couldn't accept the deputy position. He'll come round sooner or later, Dave. You guys are like my brOTP!" Jynx told him._

 _David sighed, knowing what he was about to say would crush her. "That's just it, Jynx. I didn't say no. Today was my last day at the animal shelter, I start work as a deputy on Monday."_

 _For a moment, Jynx was completely blank, barely even breathing, before she started to laugh hysterically. "That's a good one, David. I'm glad to see you still have your sense of humour," she said through bouts of laughter. David simply looked at her, waiting for her to realise. She began to calm down and he smile faded from her face completely as she took in his expression._

" _You're… you're not kidding, are you?" she asked apprehensively. A crease appeared in her brow as she frowned slightly, realising what he was telling her. "You're ditching me." It was a statement, not a question._

 _David stood up from his chair, seeing what was about to happen. "Listen to me, Jynx," he said holding a placating hand out towards her. However, he knew she wasn't listening to him. Her face had gone blank once again, though instead of laughter bubbling from inside her, this time her violet eyes darkened as she looked up at him through her dark lashes._

" _What are you gonna say, David? That the animal shelter isn't good enough for you? That you just have to prove yourself to everyone in the town that you're a good man?" she fired at him, standing up herself and squaring up to him. In any other situation it would have been hilarious, but now all David wanted to do was run._

" _It's not that I want to stop working with you, Jynx, I don't…" he tried to explain._

" _Then what is it?" she screamed at him. "Is it 'cause you're having some kind of identity crisis and this is you finding yourself? Well boo-freakin'-hoo for you, princess!"_

 _By this point, David had backed away from her and was now standing on the other side of the counter, surprised at how violent her reaction was. As if she'd realised just how much shed been shouting, Jynx's face fell as she looked at him. "I thought we were friends, Dave," she said quietly._

" _We are, Jynx! And I'm sure you'll find someone else to feed the dogs," David said._

" _I don't care about the dogs, David! This isn't about feeding the dogs!" Jynx shouted at him, trying to get him to understand._

" _Then what's it about?" he asked._

 _Jynx stopped and stared at him sadly, as if she didn't know who he was. "You know, whatever I say isn't gonna change your mind so you might as well leave now," she sighed, gesturing towards the door behind him._

" _Jynx…"_

" _Please, David. Just go," she begged, her eyes shining with unshed tears._

 _David turned and walked towards the door, pausing before her left. "You're still my friend, Jynx. You mean more to me than you know."_

 _He pulled the door open and closed it behind them, hearing Jynx crying quietly before he left..._

"Jynx, you know what the worst part about this job is gonna be?" David asked her.

"No, David, and I really don't care," Jynx said, though David knew that wasn't true.

"It's that I'm not gonna be working with my crazy best friend anymore," he told her sincerely. Jynx glanced at him sideways and David flashed her a smile.

"But you'll be with Emma and Killian," Jynx said, confused.

"Yeah, and Emma and Killian are great. But neither of them are my best friend. You know, you were the first person besides Mary Margaret who treated me like a normal human being rather than a puzzle to be solved after I woke up from the coma," David told her.

After seeming to think about his words for a moment, Jynx placed her coffee cup down and swivelled around in her seat to face him. "I don't have many friends, David, and I have even less family. I know that I'm odd and different and a little mad, but you're one of the only people who actually likes me for that. That's why it hurt so much when you said you were leaving, I thought you'd finally realised that you could do so much better than being friends with the town freak. I might act like I can take on the world, and maybe I can, but I can't do it alone," Jynx confided in him, smiling sadly.

David placed a hand on her shoulder and stared into her violet eyes. "You don't have to, Jynx. Just because we're not working together doesn't mean that we're not gonna be friends anymore. I'm just a phone call away, you know that, right?"

Jynx nodded at him. She began to shift uncomfortably in her chair. "You know, I regretted shouting at you the minute you left, right?" she began awkwardly, before David raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's okay, Jynx. You don't have to apologise, I know you can be hot-headed and stubborn, but that's just who you are."

She smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks. I really hate apologies."

David chuckled at her. "I know you do, come here," he said, standing up and pulling her into a hug, which surprisingly she returned.

From the booth where they were sitting, Ruby and Mary Margaret watched them with warm smiles on their faces.

"You think they'll be alright now?" Ruby asked the teacher, still looking at the two friends at the counter.

"Oh yeah," Mary Margaret said smugly.

"Thanks for bringing him here, Mary Margaret. Jynx keeps to herself most of the time but her friendship with David is something that's important to her," Ruby told her, obviously concerned for her friend.

"It's important to him, too, Ruby," Mary Margaret replied, smiling at the waitress before Granny shouted at Ruby to get back to work.

* * *

Outside of the sheriff station, Emma was loading storm supplies into the police cruiser when she saw Regina looking through the car at her. Emma sighed and rolled her eyes, straightening up to address her.

"If you're looking to blame me for the storm, I think you're taking things a little too far," Emma said, half-jokingly, half-serious.

Regina ignored her jab. "I need you and the sheriff to look into something, Miss Swan. Someone's in town – someone new."

 _God forbid,_ thought Emma. "Yeah, I know. I gave him directions to Granny's the other night."

"You talked to him?" the mayor asked accusingly, a frown appearing on her face.

"He asked for directions. What's the big deal? Who is he?"

"I don't know. I asked around but no one seems to know anything," Regina said, her frown deepening. "There's something about him, something familiar," she wondered aloud.

"He must be one of the untold millions you cursed," Emma said sarcastically.

"What?" Regina asked, though Emma didn't noticed how anxious she seemed.

"Oh, you know. The curse. Henry's thing," Emma elaborated as she loaded more supplies into the trunk.

"Deputy, I need you to find out who he is, what he wants and what he's doing here," Regina demanded, back to her normal authoritative self.

"You know, as hard as you try to find one in my case, there is no law against visiting Storybrooke," Emma said.

"This isn't about the law, Miss Swan. You're gonna do this because I asked you to."

Emma's jaw clenched as her temper began to flare with the demands Regina was making. She slammed the trunk shut and looked at the mayor with as much attitude as she could muster. "And why is that?" she asked.

"Because he was in front of my house. Taking a particular interest in the one thing we both care about – Henry."

Just like that, the attitude drained out of Emma as she saw the reason behind Regina's argument. "I'll look into him," she said sincerely.

Regina nodded at her, and stalked off to wreak havoc on somebody else for a change.

Emma shook her head at herself for bending so easily to Regina's will but it couldn't be helped; if Henry was involved then she knew she would do everything she could to keep him safe.

* * *

One hour later and Emma was still sitting at her desk in the sheriff station, oblivious to whatever David was saying. She had tried to make a start on finding out who exactly this stranger was, but having no name to look up and no hope of looking for him in the storm, she hadn't exactly had much luck.

"I think she's still pissed at me, but she'll get there soon enough," David finished with a smile.

"That's excellent news, mate," Killian said sincerely, clapping him on the back with one hand. "Isn't it, Emma?" he asked, looking over to his first deputy.

Emma perked up at the mention of her name and tried to look like she'd been paying attention. "Yeah, great," she mustered. A quick look shared between Killian and David told her she hadn't done a very good job.

David stood up from the desk he was leaning on and cleared his throat. "You know what, I'm gonna check the supply cupboard to see if we have enough back-ups for the storm. I'll catch you guys later," he said, tactfully leaving Killian and Emma alone to talk. The two officers watched David walk out of the room and waiting until they heard the door to the supply cupboard close before Killian turned back to Emma.

Killian walked over to Emma's desk and sat down on it in front of her chair. "Alright, Swan. What's wrong?" he asked her.

Emma's defence mechanism quickly kicked in as she plastered a smile onto her face. "Nothing's wrong," she replied.

"Swan, I thought we were past all this pretending we're okay when we're not," the sheriff said, raising one defined eyebrow at her. "You haven't stopped tapping this infernal pen on your desk since you came back in here," Killian pointed out, reaching for her hand to pluck the pen out of it.

Emma sighed and squeezed the hand that still held onto hers even after Killian had placed the pen back on the desk. "I bumped into Regina outside," Emma admitted.

"And? There's got to be something more to it, Regina's never made you react like this before," Killian observed.

Emma shook her head slightly. "It wasn't what she said, really. I mean it was, but it wasn't the fact that it was coming from Regina that it bothered me," Emma explained, absently tracing circles on the back of Killian's hand with her thumb.

Killian frowned at her. "I'm afraid you've lost me, Swan."

"The guy we gave directions to last night, she asked me to look into him because he was taking an interest in Henry," Emma said, waiting for the change to happen in Killian's eyes. Whenever Henry was mentioned in a situation that could potentially get him hurt Killian turned into a completely different person, but it always started with his eyes. They would go from a bright azure to a stormy blue within seconds, just like the sea he was so fond of watching. And as she predicted, Emma saw it happen in front of her very eyes.

"When did this happen?" he asked seriously, gripping Emma's hand a little tighter.

"Just this morning. I mean, Regina could just be overreacting, as usual. But if she's not and this newcomer is as mysterious as he seems, then what use am I sitting behind a desk right now? I don't know the guy's name and I didn't get his bike's number so I can't do any digging on my computer, but I can't exactly go and find him because of this stupid storm," Emma ranted with frustration.

She and Killian looked outside miserably at the rain that splattered onto the window.

"I just don't feel like I'm doing a very good job of being there for him," Emma blurted out. It was true, she hadn't seen Henry much since Graham had died. He'd wanted to take a break from Operation Cobra because he thought that was what caused Graham's death. However, now it seemed as though they barely saw each other because it was Operation Cobra which brought them together in the first place.

"That's not true and you know it, Emma," Killian said, snapping Emma out of her short trance. She gazed up at the sheriff and saw only sincerity in his eyes. "Things have been a bit hectic recently, granted – but that doesn't mean Henry has forgotten about you. He knows that you're there for him without him being within your sights 24/7."

Emma sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said, standing up and running a hand through her hair.

"Of course I am," Killian smirked. Emma smirked back and playfully smacked him on the arm. "Nevertheless, once this storm passes I think we should go and see this newcomer," he said, his eyes once again clouding over.

"Maybe you should let me handle this one, Jones. I know you want what's best for Henry, but if this guy turns out to be completely innocent and you go in all guns blazing, what's he gonna think?" Emma suggested with an arched eyebrow.

Killian chewed the inside of his cheek for a while, then he sighed. "Fine, but the second he does something out of the ordinary you call me, got it?"

"Yes, Sheriff," Emma said with a mock salute, causing both of them to giggle like a pair of teenagers.

Back in the supply cupboard, David could hear the pair laughing through the closed door. Why couldn't they see they were perfect for each other? They were bound to get together sooner or later, and if David had anything to say about it, he would wager it would be sooner rather than later.

* * *

Technically, it was Killian's turn to get the coffees from Granny's, but since Emma was practically wearing a hole through the floorboards with all the pacing she was doing, they all decided the fresh air would do her some good, plus the storm had calmed down a bit now. Ducking through the door of Granny's, Emma was pulling her gloves off when she noticed the stranger sitting alone in a booth, framed by his dark leather jacket that was strikingly similar to Killian's. Deciding there's no time like the present, Emma temporarily forgot about the coffees and slid herself into the booth opposite him.

"We need to talk," Emma announced, deciding to take the blunt approach. The stranger looked up at her from his coffee with his pale blue eyes. Just like Henry did this morning, Emma realised that he wasn't as old as she first thought he was, maybe in his early twenties.

"Why?" he asked smugly.

Emma narrowed her eyes at him. "Because you're suspicious."

"Sitting here, out in the open, drinking coffee," he gestured. "Wonder what kind of hell I would've raised had I ordered a donut," he added sarcastically.

Emma gritted her teeth. She had to admire a witty response like that but damn if this guy wasn't annoying.

"You were talking to Henry," the deputy shot back at him.

"You mean the kid who came up to me asking questions? Is that unusual for him? Being curious and precocious?" the stranger smirked, quirking a brow at Emma. Emma was trying so hard not to show how irritated she was and she silently thanked whatever god that was up there that Killian had let her get the coffees instead of him.

"What were you doing outside his house?"

"My bike broke down – it happens."

A normal enough response, nothing that Emma could really pick at. Then she noticed a large wooden box next to him, the same one that was on the back of his bike last night.

"Your mystery box – what's in it?"

The stranger didn't answer straight away; instead a smile appeared on his face so twisted that it made Emma wish she didn't ask.

"Awfully frustrating not knowing, isn't it?"

"Just tell me," Emma said, getting short-tempered.

He cocked his head to the side and looked at her innocently, his icy blue eyes twinkling at her mockingly. "Why? Is it illegal to carry a box around in these parts?"

Emma groaned internally, she knew exactly where he was going with this. "No, of course not," she replied.

"You really want to know what's inside, don't you?" he stated, his smile widening.

If she was being honest with herself, Emma was dying to know what was in the box. At first it was just a tactic to pin something suspicious on him but now after their little game of tug-of-war of snarky comments, Emma would be lying if she said she wasn't at all bothered. Though she didn't really want to admit it.

"No," Emma replied steely. The stranger quirked an eyebrow at her, apparently not believing her. Emma resisted the temptation to roll her eyes; ever since Killian had been chipping away at her walls her ability to lie was slipping away. "Maybe a little," Emma admitted with a slight smile. Curiosity got the better of everyone in the end.

The stranger leaned forward, as if to tell Emma a secret about the mysterious box. There was an intensity to his gaze that hadn't been there a second ago. "I'm gonna make you wait," he began, keeping his voice low so that Emma had to give him her full attention to hear him. "You're gonna have to wait a long time and watch me carry it round. Hauling it to strange and mysterious places. And with each passing moment, the mystery will become more tantalising." The stranger's voice began to get louder and Emma could feel herself wanting to pull away from him but found herself unable to, as if she was drawn in by his speech. "Your imagination will inflame – but so will your frustration. Never knowing – only guessing – what could possibly be inside that box?"

Thankfully, the stranger pulled back and the intensity melted away from his features, leaving an easy-going smile behind. "Or you could let me buy you a drink sometime and I'll tell you right now."

Emma was stumped for a second – she wasn't sure if she should breathe a sigh of relief or be more worried that this guy who had just freaked her out big time had just offered to buy her a drink. "And what if I already have someone else to buy me a drink?" Emma asked evasively, not wanting to mention Killian to the man sitting opposite her. She really didn't trust him.

"It's a drink, not a date, Deputy," the stranger assured her.

Emma thought about this for a while. "You want to buy me a drink?"

"Yes," he replied simply.

"Okay, a drink it is," Emma agreed with narrowed eyes.

The man picked the box up and placed it on the table. He swivelled it round so that it was facing Emma. Slowly, he flicked open the buckles either side and looked at Emma. She knew he was just doing this for dramatic effect, but the bubble of anticipation in Emma's stomach was threatening to burst. Before she could rip it open with her own hands, he lifted the lid up to reveal… a typewriter? Emma frowned. _Well that was a bit of an anti-climax…_

"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I'm a writer," he offered by way of explanation, his smile becoming warmer by the second.

"That's why you're here?" she asked.

"I find this place provides… inspiration. Don't you?" he inquired. Without waiting for an answer, he packed his box up and got up out of the booth.

Emma frowned as she recalled Henry saying that no one ever visited Storybrooke. "Wait, have you been here before?" she asked.

He looked down at her smugly. "Oh, I didn't say that," he said, before he turned to leave.

"What about that drink?" Emma called after him.

He turned to face her just before he headed out the door. "I said sometime," he replied with a shrug, before making his way back to his room at the B'n'B.

Emma frowned after him before turning back to twiddle her thumbs for a while. She didn't like the fact that he had that drink hanging over her head, she just wanted it over and done with. However, for all he seemed odd and untrustworthy, she didn't necessarily get any dangerous vibes from him, so that was something anyway.

* * *

 _Somewhere between worlds…_

Jack stared out to the inky blue sea as she sat on the bowsprit of her beloved ship. Her black hair whipped across her face, making her think about the last time she wore it in a braid. It seemed like a whole other life compared to the one she was living now.

"You'll catch your death out here, you know," Liza's reprimanding voice said from behind her. Jack didn't so much as flinch, she knew Liza would be coming out on deck at some point to come and fetch her.

Jack sighed and grabbed hold of a nearby rope to swing herself back onto the deck. Opposite her stood her best friend, handing her brown leather coat out to her. "If there is anyone that Death is incapable of catching, Liza, you of all people should know that it's me," she said cockily, walking towards her.

"Yes, but it never stops looking for you, does it?" she retorted, raising an eyebrow at her. Liza waved the coat in front of Jack a bit more before Jack smiled at her and took the coat, shrugging it over her shoulders.

Jack started walking back to the helm of the ship, picking her tricorne hat up off the deck on her way. She was whistling an old pirate song under her breath, completely oblivious to the world around her, and Liza couldn't help but chuckle at her friend.

"Something funny?" Jack asked, not bothering to turn around.

Liza turned back to look at the sky above. "Just that for a captain you're terrible at navigating by the stars." That got her attention. Jack whipped round and frowned at Liza.

"What the bloody hell are you going on about?" Jack asked defensively. Liza pointed towards the star slightly to the left of them.

"That's the Enchanted Forest over there," Liza said, raising an eyebrow at her.

Jack's frown disappeared as she looked at the sky, her eyes trained on the star they were heading towards. She smiled wistfully to herself, remembering a time that she usually didn't like to dwell on, before she realised what she was doing and jogged back to the helm, her brown coat billowing behind her. Jack tilted the wheel slightly to alter their course to the right direction, giving one final look to their previous destination.

Liza watched her friend from down on her main deck and took in how much her friend had changed over the years. When she had first met her she was full of fire and determination on her quest to find her brothers. Now, it had slowly drained out of her until only her sheer stubbornness was dragging her the rest of the way. It was a family trait, or so Liza was told.

"Stop it," Jack said, drawing Liza's attention back to the girl at the wheel. She wasn't even looking at her.

"I'm not doing anything," Liza replied, walking up the stairs to the helm. Jack gave her a sideways glance before she turned her head back to the star in the other direction.

"Do you think about them?" Jack asked, somewhat out of the blue. Liza leaned against the railing of the ship to gaze up at the star in question.

"Not nearly as much as you do," Liza shot back, her arms folded over her chest. Surprisingly, Jack smirked at her. If anyone else tried to answer her back like that they'd get a full dress down and be scrubbing the deck for weeks, but Liza knew Jack better than anyone.

"No one thinks about them as much as I do," Jack said, her knuckles white on the wheel as she stared dead ahead.

Liza walked over to her captain and placed a hand over hers. "Who exactly are we talking about now, Jack? Them," Liza asked, pointing at the star, "or your brothers?"

Jack looked down at their hands and chewed on the inside of her cheek. "I've been thinking about my brothers more and more recently. About what they're like now, what kind of lives they lead, what they'll think about my life. I've been putting these questions to the back of my mind for almost three hundred years now because deep down I knew I was nowhere near close to finding them. But it's been almost five years since we were last in the Land Without Magic, five years since we found out about the Dark Curse. It's almost broken, the compass is within our reach – I have to start thinking about what will happen when I find them. I've been driven by this desire to find my family for years, but now I'm wondering what if I'm looking for them just because it's the only thing I know how to do."

"Jack, hey, look at me," Liza said, quirking an eyebrow at the slightly younger girl. "Yes, you're stubborn, and hard-headed, and quite frankly a pain in the arse at times. But you never do anything that you're not happy with. Do you really think you would spend your entire life searching for a family that you don't even want to find? I've never met anyone who knows the value of family better than you, Jack."

Jack smiled at her first mate, knowing that she was right. "I know I don't say it, Liza, but I really appreciate you. You've been with me for three hundred years and have stuck by me throughout everything. I wouldn't have lasted a year without you. Why on Earth have you stayed with me for this long?"

Liza frowned. "I don't really know. I've never really thought about it. At first it was because you saved me from a life I never wanted and gave me one I could have never imagined. But then I guess I couldn't leave you because you were like a sister to me, and I knew you needed me just as much as I needed you. Of course we've had our ups and downs, Jack, but I wouldn't change a thing," Liza admitted.

The two girls smiled at each other, before Jack's awkwardness got the better of her as she cleared her throat. "Well, we'd better wake the crew up. It's almost dawn, and you know what that means," Jack said, flashing her signature devilish smirk.

"At the break of day, the sparrows play," Liza replied, matching her smirk.

Jack sent a wink her way before she disappeared into the hull and began barking orders out to her crew. It was true that Jack had lost some of her drive to find her brothers, but nothing would ever dim the fire she had for life.


	17. Chapter 16: Exchanging Memories

**Hey, guys! Yes, I suck, I am the worst updater ever, put me in the stocks and pelt me with rotten tomatoes, I deserve it! So I know I've been MIA for a couple of months now, I'm really sorry about that. Things haven't been the easiest for me at the minute and for months I just really didn't feel like writing anything. But I'm finally getting back on track and since it's half-term I've decided to get my ass in gear and start writing again. I can't thank you guys enough for the support I've gotten from you, my story has reached over 100 followers now! That is just crazy! I can't wait for you all to read this chapter, this is one for all you Captain Cobra fans out there, and also my Jynx lovers, too. I hope you enjoy! ~WG**

* * *

Chapter 16: Exchanging Memories

"Come along, Swan. Can't have you slacking just because there's another deputy," Killian shouted as Emma came out of the sheriff's station. He was waiting for her next to the squad car, leaning against it with his usual air of confidence and his signature leather jacket. As Emma neared him she rolled her eyes.

"Five minutes isn't gonna hurt anyone, Killian," she said. Emma walked round the other side of the car, ignoring Killian's mock gasp as they got in, Killian in the driver's seat.

"I don't know how you can say that, Swan. We're officers of the law, it's our sacred duty to protect the people of Storybrooke! Five minutes could be the difference between life and death," he said with a wink. Emma rolled her eyes once again at him, trying to keep the smile off her face at his goofy antics.

"Well, in that case, maybe you should start the car instead of sitting here trying to make me laugh," she shot at him, a single eyebrow twitching upwards to accent her point.

"And who says that isn't one of my sacred duties, too?" the sheriff responded, flashing her a smile as he pulled out of the parking space. Most of their journey was spent in silence as they looked out the window to assess the damage the storm did to the town, save for the 80's disco station that was playing in the background. Neither of them had the heart to change it after Graham died – it was his station after all.

"I think we're done here, Swan. Wanna head back to the station or should be swing by Granny's and grab an early lunch?" Killian asked as they turned a corner.

Emma frowned slightly before she turned to look at Killian. Even after months of seeing him almost every day, Emma still couldn't believe how handsome he was with his startling blue eyes framed by his dark hair and eyebrows. Emma realised she was staring and mentally chastised herself before she spoke. "Actually, there's one more place I want to check. I have a feeling it wouldn't have made it through the storm in one piece and I wanna see if we can salvage some of it."

"As the lady wishes," Killian said with a gentle smile as he focused on the road. "Where is it?"

"Henry's castle," Emma answered him. Killian looked over at her with a knowing smile. The castle was _their_ place; hers, Henry's and Killian's.

"Good call, love. No doubt Henry will be worried about it himself come to think of it," Killian said. He turned the car round and headed towards the beach where the castle was located.

* * *

Emma was right; by the looks of things the castle had took a pretty bad beating from the storm. The damage was enormous; whole chunks of wood had been broken off. It would be a miracle if they could salvage it. But as Henry kept telling her, Emma was the Saviour, and she'd be damned if she didn't at least try to save his castle.

Emma and Killian got out the car and stared at it for a moment.

"Well, I suppose we could have a word with Marco," Killian said, though he didn't sound too hopeful. Emma looked at him and grimaced.

The sound of a bell made them swivel round to see Henry frantically riding up to them on his bike. "Hey, kid," Emma greeted him with a smile. Henry ignored her and raced past them to the castle.

"Nice to see you, too," Killian muttered sarcastically. Emma rolled her eyes at him before they turned back to Henry.

"The storm!" he cried, running towards his castle.

"It's okay – Killian and I are gonna talk to Marco," Emma said, walking towards Henry.

Henry dropped to his knees and began digging in the sand at the base of his castle. "Do you think it's still here?" he asked. Emma and Killian frowned at each other, confirming that neither of them knew what he was talking about.

"What are you looking for, lad?" Killian asked, crossing his arms over his chest, causing his muscles bulge in his leather jacket, making Emma catch her breath. She shook her head slightly, focusing on Henry.

"My book," he replied.

"Hiding it under your mattress wasn't good enough then?" Killian quirked at him.

"That's the first place the Evil Queen would look," Henry replied seriously.

"How about leaving it with one of us?" Emma asked, arching an eyebrow curiously at him.

"That's the second place," he shouted back over his shoulder. Henry continued to frantically dig into the cakey mud beside his castle until he saw a bright flash of red amongst all the brown. He heaved the red box out of the mud and flipped it open to reveal that his book was perfectly safe. Henry's shoulders sagged with relief as he let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. "It's still here. Good."

While this was going on, Emma's mind had been whirring. He couldn't leave his book at home, or with Killian or herself, but he chose to leave it at his castle. Which meant…

"So, your mom doesn't know about the castle?" Emma asked him.

Henry stood up and looked back at her as if she'd just said something really obvious. "No. This is our secret," he said with a simple smile.

Emma and Killian exchanged a glance. That small statement had made Emma's heart swell and she had trouble keeping the smile off her face. Killian patted Henry on the shoulder and brought him in close to his side. "Smart idea, lad," the sheriff said to the boy, beaming down at him. "Best put it back though, I've got no doubts your mother will be along soon to assess the damage from the storm."

Henry untangled himself from Killian and placed his book back into the blood red box. No sooner had he slammed it shut when he heard Regina's voice from across the play area.

"Henry! Henry," the Mayor shouted. Emma and Killian shared a look with one another, desperately trying not to roll their eyes. It was almost impossible to be in that woman's presence without feeling as though they were being rubbed up the wrong way. Regina stormed over to Henry and grabbed his hand. "I've been looking everywhere for you! You know you have a session with Archie this morning," she ranted. Regina glanced up and finally seemed to notice the two officers. "I should have known he'd be with you two," she spat, glaring at them with all the distaste she could muster. "Henry – car. Now."

Henry ran off to the car, ripping his hand away from Regina's grip. The Mayor turned back to the two officers and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You let him play here?" she asked them, eyeing the castle with disgust.

 _Well, obviously not when it's half blown down by a storm, Madam Mayor,_ Emma thought to herself. Instead, Emma responded with the calm approach. "The storm hit it pretty hard, but we can fix it," she said with a bright smile, even if it was slightly forced. She heard Killian cough beside her, probably trying to cover up a laugh because he knew she wanted to say something very different.

Regina turned her glare onto the sheriff until he had lapsed back into silence, but she couldn't quite wipe the slight smirk off his face completely. Say what you want about Killian, but he knew exactly how to irritate Regina. "Well, can you fix a cracked cranium? Because that's what you'll get if one of these boards collapse under his weight. You're not thinking about Henry's safety. Just ways around me. Miss Swan, don't let your feelings cloud your judgement. People could get hurt," Regina said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma asked, feeling her heart rate increase as her blood boiled in her veins.

Regina smirked at her. "You're a deputy now – time to be responsible." And with that she turned on her heel and stalked back to her car.

Emma's gaze burned holes through the back of Regina's head as she watched her walk away, but before she could go after her and say something, she felt a large, warm hand slip into her smaller one.

"Leave it, Swan," he whispered into her ear, his thumb brushing back and forth over her knuckles. Almost immediately Emma felt her heart rate slow, and the heat from her face started to fade. "She's just trying to get a rise out of you. We both know that Henry's safety is paramount for both of us, and she knows that, too."

Emma nodded slowly before turning around to face him. "You're right," she said, her frown fading when she looked up into those sea blue eyes.

Killian wiggled his dark eyebrows at her. "I'm sorry, what was that? Did Emma Swan just admit that I was right?" he said, smirking at her.

She rolled her eyes at him and playfully smacked him on the arm. "Shut up," Emma responded, smirking despite herself.

Killian laughed as they both turned around and began walking back to the car, Killian's arm wrapping around Emma's shoulders. "How about you go and get your lunch, you can meet Mary Margaret at Granny's for a bit. David and I can hold the fort," he offered, opening Emma's door for her.

Emma leaned over her open door. "Killian, Regina always gets to me, I don't need special treatment for it," Emma said to him, arching an eyebrow at him.

"I never said that you did, I just thought you might want lunch with Mary Margaret, you haven't seen her in a while."

"I live with her!" Emma shot back indignantly.

"Well, still…" he said sheepishly.

Emma rolled her eyes and slid into the passenger seat. "Fine, if you two are that determined to get rid of me then I'll go."

Killian shut her door once she was inside and smirked to himself. Emma needed a break for once, and he would be damned if he didn't make her take it.

* * *

Emma had called Mary Margaret when she arrived at Granny's, and the teacher agreed to meet her on her lunch break. Emma had two steaming cups of coffee in front of her, one in her hand and one in the space opposite her ready for when Mary Margaret arrived. After another minute or so, the small bell above the door rang out as the small teacher pushed open the door and walked over to the table Emma was sitting at.

"Hey, thanks for the coffee," Mary Margaret said, placing her bag down next to her seat.

"No problem," Emma said, smiling at her flatmate.

Mary Margaret smiled at her. "So how's things at work?"

"Oh the usual, quiet," Emma said, brushing her question off.

"Good, that's good," Mary Margaret said, nodding slightly. Emma frowned at her; she was acting a little odd today.

"Okay, what's up?" Emma asked, leaning forward on her elbows.

Mary Margaret sipped her coffee innocently. "I don't quite know what you mean."

Emma raised an eyebrow at her and stared her out. Mary Margaret sighed and placed her cup on the table. "Okay, when you say things are quiet at work, how quiet is quiet?" she asked.

"As in Killian's started making paper planes and pirate hats out of old case reports. Why?" Emma asked.

"David wants to try and get Valentine's night off next month," Mary Margaret explained, a small smile playing about her lips.

"And? I assumed he would be anyway," the blonde replied, confused.

"Oh, really?" Mary Margaret asked, surprised.

"Well, yeah. I mean, you guys are together and it's Valentine's night, why shouldn't he have it?"

"It's just that…" Mary Margaret began.

"Yes?" Emma said, willing her to continue.

"Well, you and Killian still haven't been on your date yet, and I thought maybe you two would want to plan something for Valentine's night and make it special, because David and I can go on a date anytime but you guys have been waiting for so long and everything just seems to get in the way for you guys…" Mary Margaret ranted, the torrent of words flowing out of her mouth at break-neck speed.

"Mary Margaret, breathe," Emma giggled. "Killian and I haven't planned anything, in fact he hasn't mentioned it to me in a while now. We've just been focusing on other things at the minute. But it's not fair on you to wait around for us to make a move when you could be getting wined and dined on Valentine's night, okay? Don't worry about me and Killian," Emma said, smiling at her friend. Emma had once said she needed someone like Mary Margaret in her life, someone who would look out for her, and that's exactly what Mary Margaret had been doing for her. So now it was time to give something back. Although, she would be lying if she said she wasn't gutted that Killian hadn't brought anything up about Valentine's Day. Emma knew she was a lot of hard work but she was beginning to feel like maybe she was too much work, even for Killian.

"You're sure?" Mary Margaret asked, bringing Emma back to reality.

"Of course I am. Besides, we all know how pissed off Regina was when you two got together in the first place. All the more reason to go out I say," Emma said, rolling her eyes.

"Uh oh, what's she done now?" the dark-haired teacher asked.

Emma explained what had happened at Henry's castle as they ate their lasagne, all the while getting more worked up about what Regina had said to her. "Don't let my feelings cloud my judgement?! That's all Regina ever does," Emma said, frowning at her lasagne.

"Well, she's just upset because you and Henry have a special place and she… she doesn't," Mary Margaret suggested, trying to calm Emma down. Mary Margaret knew exactly how to handle Emma when she was angry with Regina, and more importantly, when she was angry with herself.

"How'd she find out about the castle in the first place?" Emma wondered out loud.

Mary Margaret shrugged and smiled sadly. "She knows everything about this town, she's the Mayor." The teacher glanced at her watch and sighed. "I'd better get going, I have to get back to work in fifteen minutes. If it makes you feel any better, I think you're right. I see the effect she has on Henry," the teacher said, standing up and picking her bag up from the floor beside her.

"I wish everyone else did," Emma said to herself as she watched Mary Margaret's retreating form.

"I can grant your wish," a voice said from behind Emma. The blonde deputy turned in her seat to see Sidney sitting behind her with an almost empty glass of whiskey.

"Wow. Sidney, you want a side of bacon with that whiskey?" Emma asked him sarcastically.

"You want to show the people of this town who the Mayor really is? I can help," he continued, ignoring her jab.

"That's gonna be kinda hard to do from inside her pocket," Emma said, turning back to finish her coffee in peace.

"The Mayor and I are done," Sidney implored, standing up to sit in the chair opposite Emma.

"Sure you are," she replied sceptically.

"She got me fired from the paper!"

"And why's that? Couldn't find enough dirt on me to give to her?" Emma shot back at him. She wasn't stupid, she knew Sidney was Regina's fly on the wall for everything, and she had no doubts he had done extensive digging into her background. At least he had the decency to look ashamed when she said this.

"I've started working on an exposé at the Mayor's office, and I found something she didn't want to be found," the ex-reporter continued.

Emma rolled her eyes and stood up. As much as she was interested in what Sidney had found, she knew better than to meddle with things shouldn't be meddled with. "You're drunk, Sidney – go home and sleep it off. Be grateful that you don't have to answer to her anymore," Emma said. As she turned to leave, Sidney grabbed her by the wrist and slipped something into her hand. Emma looked down and saw his business card.

"Call me. Storybrooke deserves to know the truth about her."

Before Emma could be anymore tempted by his offer, she walked out of Granny's and began walking back to work.

* * *

"Wait a minute, I don't understand – you're giving me Valentine's night off? But I haven't even asked for it yet!" David said, looking at his boss and friend incredulously.

Killian leaned casually against his desk, his classic leather jacket stretching over his arms as he crossed them over his chest. "I know," he said in his English accent. "But it was pretty obvious you were going to. Besides, I have something planned for Valentine's night at the station for me and Emma," Killian admitted to him.

David smirked at him and leaned back in his chair, placing his feet up on his desk. "Oh, I see. You just want to get me out of the way for the night."

"Look, I think if I ask Emma to go on this big night out with me on Valentine's night that it will scare her off and she'll clam back up again and we'll be back to square one. This is just going to be really low key, and we're technically going to be on duty anyway," Killian explained.

David nodded at him while he smiled at the sheriff. He really did love Emma, probably more than anybody even realised. But what he didn't seem to see was that Emma loved him just as much. She wouldn't be easily scared away anymore, not when everyone could see how drawn to each other the two officers were. They were like magnets, knowing exactly how to respond to each other.

The two men heard the door open and Killian mimed zipping his mouth up as a warning to David, to which the deputy responded by crossing his heart. Emma walked into the station and shrugged her red leather jacket off.

"How's Mary Margaret?" Killian asked as she sat down at her desk.

"Good, yeah, she's good," Emma said distractedly.

Killian raised an eyebrow at David who simply shrugged at him. "Okay, Swan, the point of sending you for lunch with Mary Margaret was to take your mind off things, not make you even more unfocused, has something happened?" Killian asked.

Emma leaned back in her chair after booting her computer up. "I bumped into Sidney at the diner, he heard me talking about Regina and offered to help me expose her for what she really is," Emma told them.

"Wait, Sidney said this?" David asked, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"Yeah, that's what I thought, too," Emma said. "Apparently Regina got him fired from the paper."

"Whether that's true or not, you can't trust him, Emma. Especially not with Regina," Killian warned her.

"I know I can't, just something he said stuck with me. That he'd found something that she didn't want anyone to find," Emma said, rubbing a hand through her blonde tresses.

"Emma," Killian began.

"I know, he can't be trusted," she said, cutting the sheriff off with a look.

"He's a snake in the grass, Swan, and possibly one of the most deadly vipers in Storybrooke," Killian remarked, walking around to sit down at his desk.

Emma sighed and turned back to her computer screen and began looking through some documents. She knew she couldn't trust Sidney, but there was this little niggling voice at the back of her mind that kept saying _what if_ …

* * *

On his lunch break, David had decided against his usual at Granny's and headed in the opposite direction towards the animal shelter. Since he and Jynx had made up, he'd made a conscious effort to visit her, sometimes when she was at work and sometimes for a drink at the Rabbit Hole. Today, however, he was visiting her for a very different reason.

He pushed the door to animal clinic open, noticing that Jynx still hadn't gotten a bell since she broke the last one. The short woman peered over the desk with her violet eyes, her hair a soft grey-blue hue this week.

"Thank God you're here!" she exclaimed, jumping up from her chair and racing towards him from around the desk. She grabbed him by the sleeve and started hauling him towards the dog kennels. For someone so short, she was surprisingly strong. "Billy called in sick today and I managed all of 33 seconds trying to feed the dogs before I almost hyperventilated." Jynx dragged a bag of dry dog food from under the desk and heaved it into David's expecting arms. "You know what to do," she said, gesturing towards the door.

David rolled his eyes and pushed the door open. "Nice to see you, too, Jynx," he shouted above all the barking of the dogs.

"I know, I'm a delight," Jynx smirked.

After David had fed the dogs, he came back round to the front desk to see Jynx sitting on top of it with her spinny chair in front of her. She pointed to the chair in front of her. "Come. Sit," she told him with an arched eyebrow.

"I'm not a dog, Jynx," David said, sitting in her chair anyway.

"What's up? You've been wanting to ask me something since the second you got here," she said, ignoring his comment.

David leaned back in the seat and sighed. Well, he leaned back as much as he could, considering the chair was on the lowest setting and his knees were almost up to his chest. "I don't know what to do for Valentine's night next month," he told her.

"Well, I would have thought there was a pretty obvious option for that one," Jynx said with a wink.

David shot her a look. "I meant date-wise."

"Urgh, you're no fun," Jynx said, rolling her eyes. She pulled her legs up onto the desk to sit cross-legged in front of David, the rips in her jeans stretching over her knees. "Okay, what are your thoughts so far?"

"I was thinking dinner and a movie and maybe some-"

"Wrong!" the younger girl said, cutting him off.

"What do you mean, you asked me what I had in mind," David said.

"Yeah, but I didn't say it was gonna be the right thing to have in mind," Jynx shot back. "It's Valentine's night, you need to do something special! Ditch the movie – dull, predictable. Dinner, yeah fair enough, but please God don't go to Granny's. Go to that little Italian place on the corner, the one that does the amazing spaghetti and meatballs for two. Then after dinner, you need to do something exciting, something you guys haven't done before," Jynx told him. She paused for a minute and thought. "What kind of stuff is Mary Margaret into?"

"She likes nature, I guess, and walking," David suggested.

Jynx's purple eyes lit up; it would have been scary if you didn't know she was just planning a date. "That's perfect! After dinner, you guys can walk up to that spot on the hill that overlooks the town! It'll be quiet, I mean, let's be real, who wants to go for a walk on a February night, it'll be freezing! But as long as you guys wrap up warm, you should be fine."

David blinked at her for a moment.

"What? Is there something on my face? Is there a dog behind me?" Jynx asked, whipping round to see what he was looking at.

"How do you do that? Just plan the perfect date within three minutes like you're some kind of expert?" David asked her.

Jynx smirked at him. "The benefits of being single are that I have a lot of free time to myself, which I spend watching crappy TV romance movies. You learn something new every day," she said with a shrug.

David chuckled at her. "What about you? You got any plans for Valentine's night?"

"Who, me? Course I do, David, it's like you don't know me at all. I've got a date with a charming guy called vodka. We're perfect for each other," Jynx told him with a wink, making both of them laugh, David's a low chuckle and Jynx's a high-pitched giggle.

"What would I do without you, Jynx?" David asked her, smiling.

The smaller woman shrugged. "Crash and burn," she replied fondly.

David shook his head. "I'd better get back to work, Killian will have my head if I'm late for my shift. Thanks, Jynx, you're the best," David said. He got up from his too-small chair and lightly pecked Jynx on the cheek.

"Ew, yeah, yeah, I know. Get off me," she said, pushing him away from her though it was severely lacking as she smiled at him.

"I'll see you later," David shouted over his shoulder, as he pulled the door open and made his way back to the station. With that sorted, all he needed to do now was tell Mary Margaret about Emma's surprise date at the station.

* * *

As David had gone on his lunch break, when Emma had gotten a call from Henry saying there was an emergency at his castle, Killian had opted to stay behind at the station. Of course it was boring, but he knew Emma needed to look after Henry. He was their priority, after all. About twenty minutes after Emma had left, he got a call from her.

"Swan, how is he?" Killian asked, his voice tainted with worry for Henry.

"He's a little shaken. Regina had his castle bulldozed right in front of him," Emma replied, her voice tight. Killian could practically see her shaking with fury.

"That damn woman," Killian seethed. He could only imagine how Henry must be feeling. That castle was the only place where Henry could get away from Regina, and now she had ripped it away from him.

"Yeah, I know. Listen, I need you to do me a favour," Emma said.

"Anything," the sheriff replied, really meaning it. He would do anything for Emma and Henry, without question.

"Regina has went too far this time, I can't just sit here and watch her get away with it. I'm gonna give Sidney a call," Emma told him.

Killian's stomach immediately dropped. "Emma, are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked. He had a feeling Emma would end up being too invested in this and end up getting herself hurt. She had come so close to getting her heart broken when she help Ava and Nicholas, and Killian couldn't bear to see this end up the same way.

"Killian, if you could see how much she's hurt Henry by doing this, you would be calling Sidney yourself. This is where you come in. I need you to look after Henry today – I don't really want him being on his own after all this."

"Of course, I'll be there right away. David should be back from his lunch break soon anyway," Killian replied, already picking his keys up from his desk and heading towards the door.

"I'll meet you at the castle," Emma said, before hanging up.

Killian raced down to the castle wreckage to find a tearful Henry and a furious Emma. As soon as he was close enough Henry wrapped his arms around the sheriff's waist and clung onto him. Killian instinctively wrapped his arms around him. The sheriff scoured the view but didn't find who he was looking to blame for all this.

"Where's Regina?" he asked Emma.

"She went back to her office," Emma replied stonily.

Killian nodded at her. He looked down at Henry who was still hugging him, and detached the boy from his waist. He kneeled down to look at Henry.

"Hey, c'mon lad, that's enough of that," he said, wiping the tears away from his cheeks. "C'mon, let's go for a walk. I'll take you to the place where I go when I need to think. It might not be as good as your castle, but it's a start."

Henry sniffed but nodded at Killian. The sheriff stood up and wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders. "I hope you know what you're doing, Swan," Killian told Emma quietly.

"I always do," she said with a small smile.

Killian's breath hitched in his throat. She really was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. He didn't think he'd ever get used to seeing her smile.

"Be careful," he said. The sheriff leaned into her and his lips lightly grazed her cheek as he gave her a swift peck. Before Emma could react, he walked Henry past the wreckage and down the hill onto the sand of the beach.

For a few minutes, they walked along in silence, until they came to Killian's usual spot, where they sat down, regardless of the sand that would cling to their clothes.

"I've noticed you come here a lot," Henry said, looking out to the vast ocean in front of them.

Killian nodded as he too looked out onto the deep blue expanse. "It calms my mind when my thoughts are too chaotic, but it also spurs them on when my mind is too quiet," the sheriff replied. "Whatever mood I'm in, the sea always counteracts it."

"Maybe that's a clue to who you really are," Henry said. "I mean, you're a great sheriff, but maybe your real identity had something to do with the sea."

Killian smiled at Henry. It made Killian swell with pride that Henry looked up to him as sheriff. Graham was one of the best men Killian ever knew, he'd always looked up to him. Stepping into the position of sheriff after Graham was tough, so it meant the world to him that he was living up to Graham's memory.

"I came here a lot after Graham died," Killian said. "Nothing made sense, so I felt like the only place I could go to was here."

"Do you still miss him?" Henry asked.

Killian smiled sadly at the boy. "I'll miss him every day for the rest of my life. But it doesn't mean I have to be miserable about him. I can miss him without being sad, Henry. Do you miss him?"

Henry nodded at him. "I feel like it was my fault he died," he said quietly, barely above a whisper. If the wind had been any stronger it would have carried his voice away.

"Why would you think that, Henry? Graham had a heart attack, that was no one's fault," Killian said, wrapping an arm around Henry and pulling him closer to his side.

"No, it was the curse that killed him! He was starting to remember, I know he was!"

Killian paused, and flashed back to what Graham had said just before he died.

" _I remember…"_

" _Believe in Henry, Kil…"_

Could it be… No, of course not. But then again…

"Henry, just before Graham died, he told me something. I still don't really know what he meant, but I'm thinking maybe you can help me. He told me that he remembered – he didn't say what – and that I should believe in you. If Graham had that much faith in you, you can't possible blame yourself for his death," Killian told him, gaging Henry's reaction.

The boy sat up in the sand and turned to face Killian. "He did? What else did he say?"

"Nothing, those were his last words. He knew he was dying by that point so whatever he wanted me to believe you about, it must have been incredibly important. I don't know if he was referring to the curse Henry, but since that night things have been different."

"Different how?" the boy asked curiously.

Killian paused, debating whether or not he should tell Henry this. On one hand, it could make Henry more adamant about the curse than ever, but on the other hand it could help alleviate some of the guilt Henry felt. "Well, when Graham died I shouted 'not again', as if the same sort of experience had happened to me before. Then that night, it was as if a floodgate had been opened. I've been having strange dreams for a while now, but after Graham I began to get them almost every night," Killian said, remembering the pain he felt when the sailor died in his arms as Graham had, and the small girl with the raven hair watching the sparrows in the square.

"They're your memories! They're coming back to you," Henry said excitedly.

"Henry, they're just dreams, they're so strange that they can't be real memories," Killian told him.

"If they were really just dreams, why are you telling me about them?" Henry asked, arching an eyebrow at Killian just like Emma would when she would ask him a question. "When you have these dreams, it's like you're living them, right? Like everything you feel in the dream is real."

"How did you know that?" Killian asked, remembering how elated he was when he woke up from the dream when the young girl secured her naval commission.

"Because they really happened! You're reliving your entire life. Maybe if you tell me something about the dreams you might remember some more."

Killian couldn't believe he was doing this. Really, he criticised Graham for seeing a ten-year-old for help when he was having his mental break and now he was doing the exact same thing. But with all the strange things that have been going on recently, he couldn't help but wonder…

"Alright, well, so far I've only dreamed of two people. A man a little older than me, and a girl who's younger than me. We all seem quite close and resemble each other so I can only assume we're somehow related. It's difficult to recall when I'm awake, but when I'm asleep everything is so vivid," Killian explained, a small crease appearing on his forehead as he frowned.

"That's okay, it'll be difficult to remember at first. Is it always those two people?" Henry asked.

Killian nodded at him. "Although, sometimes it's at different points in time. At one point the girl was about seven-years-old and the man was in his late teens, and then another time the girl was a teenager and the man was grown up. Sometimes the girl isn't even in the dream, but it feels like I've lost something when she's not there," Killian told him, frowning as he remembered standing somewhere looking out to the ocean and missing her terribly.

"She must have been important to you, or you wouldn't miss her so much," Henry said thoughtfully.

"How do you know I miss her?" Killian replied, confused at Henry's insight.

"Because the way you're talking about her now is the same way you talk about Graham. You seem far-off and distant, like you're not really talking to me but more to yourself."

Killian looked at Henry, who simply gave him a small smile. For a boy who was only ten, he certainly was wise beyond his years.

"You're too smart for your own good sometimes, you know that, lad?" Killian said, smirking at him.

"Wonder who I get that from," Henry answered cheekily.

Killian chuckled at him and ruffled Henry's dark hair.

"Do you remember when you first started having these dreams?" Henry asked curiously.

Killian thought for a minute. His first one had been long before Graham had died, but he knew there was something different about that day, something new…

"It was the night that Emma came to town," Killian realised, his mouth slightly parted. Well, well, well, looks like Emma Swan really was going to turn his world upside down.


	18. Chapter 17: Misleading Mistakes

**Hey, guys! I'm back! This chapter has still taken me a little while to complete so sorry that I'm a little late with that, but I'm getting better! Unfortunately, I have exams coming up so I can't promise that I'll be updating until July possibly, but this summer I promise I'll update a lot more regularly. Can you believe I've been writing this story for a year next month, because I can't. I'd just like to say a big thank you to everyone who has stuck by me and continued to read this story, you guys make my day whenever I post something. Don't forget to leave a review or PM me if you have any questions!**

 **~WG**

* * *

Chapter 17: Misleading Mistakes

Eventually, Killian had finally managed to divert his conversation with Henry away from his dreams. It took some persuading, but in the end Henry agreed not to tell Emma what Killian had told him. He didn't want Emma thinking that Killian was adding unnecessary fuel to the fire that was Henry's imagination. With that settled, Killian and Henry left the beach, and the sheriff took the younger boy to Granny's for some ice cream. They sat on two stools at the counter with the largest chocolate sundae Granny sold shared between them. They spent most of the afternoon like that; talking, laughing, eating. Anyone who didn't know them might have thought they were father and son.

"Hey, Killian, do you have any coloured pencils and paper or anything?" Henry asked all of a sudden.

Killian frowned. "Not with me, but I have some back at the station. Why do you need it?" he asked.

"I lost my book back at the castle when the Evil Queen bulldozed it, it was gone by the time Emma and I got there. If I don't write all the stories down, I'll forget them," the boy replied, his face clouding over at the memory of his castle being torn apart.

Killian was about to suggest going back to the station to get some, when all of a sudden Ruby slid a couple of pieces of blank paper across the counter for them.

Killian looked up at her. "Thanks, Ruby," he said gratefully.

The dark-haired waitress simply winked at them before she sauntered off to make some coffee. Henry's face practically lit up as he grabbed the pencil from his coat pocket and frantically began writing on the paper. Killian smiled softly at the sight of him.

"Tell you what, I think I might have some coloured marker pens in the car. Give me a minute and I'll go and check for you," Killian told him, ruffling Henry's dark hair as he stood up.

"Thanks, Killian," Henry said with a smile. As the sheriff began walking towards the door, Henry turned back to his papers. He had to get this down, and quickly, or Operation Cobra would be a lost cause. Out of his peripheral vision, Henry saw a cloud of black leather sit next to him. Killian was a lot quicker than Henry expected him to be considering he was parked round the back of the inn.

"Watcha working on?" an unfamiliar voice said.

Henry turned his head to see not Killian, but the stranger who was fixing his bike outside his house. Henry didn't really trust him enough to tell him about the curse, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he had something to do with it. It wasn't a coincidence that not even six months after Henry brought Emma to Storybrooke and things began to change that another mysterious stranger showed up in a town that can't be accessed by outsiders.

"Uh, no time to talk. I've got to write this all down before I forget," Henry said evasively, focusing back on the piece of paper in front of him.

"Yeah, I hate it when great ideas slip away from me," the stranger said, trying to continue on with the conversation.

"They're not my ideas. They're stories from a book I lost," Henry responded, trying his best to ignore the man next to him and concentrate on his work.

"Must be one hell of a book. What's it about?" he asked.

Henry mentally rolled his eyes. Couldn't this guy see that he was busy? "Stuff," Henry replied, hoping that the stranger would get the message and leave him alone.

"Sounds exciting."

Henry couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not so he decided to look at him. "You seem awfully interested in me and my book," Henry challenged him.

The stranger shrugged at him. "Just being neighbourly."

"What's going on here?" Killian asked, a dangerous edge to his voice that would have been almost undetectable to anyone that didn't know him. The stranger turned around to face him and gave him an easy going smile, something that would have been impossible for anyone else if Killian had been giving them the look he was giving him.

"Just having a friendly conversation, sheriff. That's what people in small towns do, right?" he replied with a cocky smirk.

Killian really didn't like this guy. Not just for the fact that he was taking an interest in Henry, there was just something very odd about him.

"Aye, that we do. I hate to be rude but you seem to have stolen my seat, mate," Killian replied, though it was quite obvious that this stranger was not his mate at all.

The man stood up and put his hands up in a peaceful gesture and moved across one chair so that Killian could sit between him and Henry. The sheriff stalked over and sat down next to him, placing a protective arm around Henry's shoulders. He held the pens out to Henry. "There you are, lad."

"Thanks," Henry said, seeming to forget all about the stranger now.

Once Killian was satisfied that Henry was okay, he turned back to the stranger. "So, what brings you to Storybrooke?"

"Is it normal to have the police interrogate every visitor that comes to this town?" he replied evasively.

Killian raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought we were just being neighbourly? Interrogating someone implies that they have something to hide."

The stranger's smile became strained, and Killian only smirked wider. This guy was definitely hiding something; Killian didn't trust him at all. If only there was some way to prove it.

"I'm a writer," he answered simply. "I find this place gives me inspiration."

Henry leaned forward to look at the man. "You can write anywhere. What are you really doing here?"

Killian raised an eyebrow at the stranger, waiting to hear his answer.

The man smirked at Henry. "Stuff," he replied, before he got up and walked out of Granny's.

Killian watched him suspiciously as he left the diner, eyeing the door even after the stranger had left.

"You think he's hiding something?" Henry asked.

Killian turned back around and frowned at him. "What makes you say that?"

"You're giving him that look you do. You know, when you don't know whether to trust someone," Henry replied.

Killian raised an eyebrow at him. "Am I really that easy to read?" the sheriff asked.

Henry smiled. "Only to me."

Killian shook his head as Henry turned back to his work and began to scribble down the stories of the curse.

* * *

As the afternoon drew to a close, Henry still wasn't ready to go back to Regina's house and the Mayor hadn't enquired about his whereabouts so Killian took him to Mary Margaret's. As they were all sitting at the counter (drinking cocoa yet again), Emma burst through the door with a determination behind her eyes that Killian hadn't seen in a while. The sheriff regarded her closely as he set his cup down and walked around the counter to meet her.

"You alright, love?" he asked her.

Emma paused for a moment and looked at him. "Yeah, I just need to grab a warmer jacket and some gloves," she replied. She pulled away from Killian and ran up the stairs to her room. Killian glanced over at Henry and Mary Margaret who both just shrugged. Turning back, he marched up the stairs to see what Emma was so anxious about.

"Emma, what's going on?" Killian asked her once he got to the top.

She turned to look at him with a gleeful look that almost scared him a little. "Sidney and I overheard Regina's phone call about a payoff in the woods. We found $50,000 have gone missing from the account and she was acting awfully suspicious when we confronted her about it."

"So you're going to the woods to catch her? Swan, are you mad? You have no idea what you're getting yourself into," Killian warned.

"But this could be the only way to finally get any evidence of how much damage she's causing!"

Killian stood closer to Emma and placed both hands either side of her face. "Swan, listen to me. This is a dangerous game you're playing. Now I can't stop you from doing anything, but I am begging you to reconsider this. We can find another way to beat Regina."

"When? Tomorrow? Next week?" she asked him, her green eyes boring into his. "Killian, every day that Regina spends with Henry, he slips further away. She's destroying him and everyone can see it. But none of that would stand up in a court battle."

Killian blinked at her as he realised what she was saying. "You want full custody of Henry?"

Emma froze, not realising just how crazy it sounded until Killian said it out loud – or how much she wanted it. "He's my son, and I'm gonna take him back, one way or another."

Killian sighed, knowing there was nothing he could say now that would make Emma change her mind. As soon as Henry was involved there was nothing that Emma wouldn't do. "Okay," he said. "Just promise me you'll be careful." The sheriff pulled the deputy in for a tight hug, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Emma's hands snaked around his waist as she buried her head into his broad chest, breathing the scent that was just Killian. All too soon Emma pulled away, and went down the stairs.

"I'll see you guys later, okay," Killian heard her say, before the door opened and then shut behind her. Ignoring the feeling in his stomach that this was not going to end well, he trudged back down the stairs to sit with Henry and Mary Margaret, plastering a smile on his face as he did so.

* * *

Emma had picked Sidney up outside of Granny's in her yellow bug, and they were now driving down a little dirt road into the woods. Things inside the car were tense, both of them feeling high with anticipation as to what they might find out about Regina. As they turned the corner, Emma began to brake, but quickly realised that they weren't slowing down. Panic shot through her, as she slammed her foot on the brakes even more.

"Emma?" Sidney asked, the panic also obvious in his voice.

"It won't stop," Emma cried. The two barely had time to brace themselves before the car crashed into a tree. Emma's head rocked back and forth as the car came to an abrupt stop. Thankfully, apart from a little whiplash, no one was hurt.

"You okay?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, you?" Sidney replied.

"Yeah."

They both clambered out of the car, Emma going to inspect the front while Sidney looked underneath.

Realisation dawned on Emma. "We're going to miss the handoff," she sighed.

"Emma," Sidney said, the tone in his voice making her momentarily forget about Regina. She walked around to where he was kneeling and raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" she asked.

"You know that bug you planted? I think Regina found it – someone's been tampering with the brakes. She's onto us."

As soon as those words left Sidney's mouth, Emma felt a white hot rage flare up within her. This woman was psychotic, and the sooner she got Henry away from her, the better. Emma barely felt herself move as her legs spurred her on through the forest.

"Wait," Sidney shouted after her.

"The bitch tried to have me killed, I'm finding her," Emma shot back at him, not willing to listen to reason.

"Let's be cautious, we need to think clearly…"

"To hell with caution!" Emma interrupted. "I'm going to find out what she's doing and why she's out here."

"She was meeting me," a voice said from behind them.

Emma whipped around to see Mr Gold standing in front of her with a briefcase in his hands.

"What are you doing out here with her?" Emma asked, instantly suspicious. She hadn't had many interactions with Mr Gold except the occasional enquiry when on a case and the unfortunate incident with Ashley, but she knew Killian didn't trust him so she was always wary of him.

"Just a little business transaction," he replied.

"What's in the briefcase?" Emma demanded, becoming more on guard with every second she spent with him.

Gold smirked at her. "Everything has its price, land is no different."

"That's why you're meeting her out here? Regina bought your land?" the deputy inquired, becoming more and more curious.

"The very ground you're standing on."

"What does she want it for?" Emma asked.

Gold sighed. "You know, in business, I find it's best not to ask too many questions. Hurts the bottom line. The question is, Emma – why are you standing out here in the middle of the night with Mr. Glass?"

"You don't know what Regina did to me," Sidney said, speaking for the first time. "You don't know what she did to her son. We can't just sit idly by."

"Of course you can. Be careful – emotional entanglements can lead us down very dangerous paths," Gold replied, before turning to walk away.

* * *

The next day, Emma came into work early. She wasn't supposed to start until twelve, but she was in at nine, much to Killian's surprise.

"Swan, you're in a little early, aren't you, love?" he asked, glancing at his watch.

"I'm working on this thing with Sidney this morning," she replied as she sat down at her computer.

Killian nodded, chewing the inside of his cheek. "You know, I was checking the messages here from last night and I saw that you took a call from Regina's office. Turns out the burglar alarm went off. Everything sorted out now?" Killian asked, not bothering to hide the meaning behind his question.

Emma looked at him sheepishly. "I know how you feel about this, and I'm sorry. But last night I'm pretty sure she tampered with my brakes because she's onto me."

Anger burst through every vein in Killian's body as he went deadly still. "What?" he asked quietly.

"Last night, my car wouldn't stop and I crashed into a tree. Before you say anything," Emma said, holding up a hand as Killian was about to say something. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you but if I told you over the phone I was involved in a car crash you would have freaked out. This way you can see that I'm perfectly fine and that I wasn't hurt."

"That's not the point, Emma, the bloody woman tried to kill you!"

"I know, but I have something on her that means she can never lay a finger on any of us ever again. Last night when Sidney and I were at her office we found a set of blueprints. It looks like she building herself a second home in the woods using the town's money. Now I know it's not the worst thing she's done, but it's the only thing we've got evidence for. Killian, this could get her out of our lives forever."

Killian mulled over what she was saying, considering her words carefully. On one hand he wanted to tear Regina's throat out with his bare hands for putting Emma's life in danger like that. But on the other hand, he knew being impulsive would only make things worse. Placing his elbows on his desk, he rested his chin on his hand. "As long as you're sure about this, Swan. You don't know what she could be planning."

"What else could she possibly be building?" Emma asked.

* * *

"You're right, Miss Swan, I am building a house. A playhouse," Regina announced, with a smile plastered on her face. That singular word felt like a punch to the gut for Emma, as she slowly realised what an incredible mistake she had made. The image of a playhouse remarkably similar to the blueprints Emma had found flashed up on the screen behind Regina as she showed the council what she was planning.

A playhouse. Not a mansion for herself. It was as if there was some kind of external force that wanted to humiliate Emma as much as possible and chose to make Regina look like a complete saint in comparison to the devil Emma was accusing her of being.

"The accusations are true – I did take city funds. I wanted to build a playground so my son, Henry, and all the children of Storybrooke, could have a special place to play. Safely. As for the sketch in your hands, it was inspired by a drawing I found in one of my son's books. So, there you have it, Miss Swan. You've exposed me for who I really am. I hope you're satisfied," Regina finished, flashing a malicious smile towards Emma.

Emma had no idea what to do so she did what she does best in these types of situations: run. As she turned to walk out of the council room as quickly as possible, she caught a glimpse of Mr old giving her a meaningful look. Not wanting to dwell on it too much, she walked out of the building to find Killian.

Sidney was outside waiting for her, leaning against the squad car she had borrowed.

"Well, how'd it go?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Not great."

People slowly started to file out of the building, each one of them giving Emma a disapproving look as they walked past. All except Mr Gold, who walked straight towards Emma.

"Look at her – queen of the castle," he said, glancing over at Regina who was talking to a group of people, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "You know, what you did in there was commendable, Miss Swan. But if you really want to bring her down, you're going to need a strong ally."

"Like yourself? Thanks, but I'm still not interested," Emma said, not trusting him one bit.

"Oh, one can wish. Remember, Miss Swan: two people with a common goal can achieve many things. Two people with a common enemy can achieve even more." Gold gave Emma one last smirk, before he walked over to his car. Just as he was leaving, Regina walked over to Emma.

"Miss Swan. A word? Alone," she said, glaring at Sidney enough to make him leave. "I don't know what you were hoping to accomplish in there. But now, I hope you'll go back to your job. Which is upholding the law – not breaking it. You don't think I know you broke into my office?"

Emma couldn't believe Regina was talking to her about breaking the law. "Don't pretend like you're so innocent. I know you messed with the brakes on my car."

"Your brakes?" Regina asked innocently. "Are you delusional? Why would I kill you when you just saw I had nothing to hide?"

"Nothing I can prove," Emma shot back.

"Well, until you have something more substantial than disdain to throw my way, you're going to stay away from me. And, more importantly, from Henry."

Emma began to protest. "But that's…"

"Not open for discussion," Regina interrupted. "You've lost the high ground, Deputy. If I wanted to, there's not a judge in the world that would deny me a restraining order after what you've done. You don't get to see my son unless I say so. And right now? I don't say so." With that, Regina walked away, leaving Emma feeling more alone than she'd felt in months.

* * *

Emma sat on the beach, feeling the wind blow through her hair. It had been a week since Emma had told Henry that she wasn't allowed to see him for a while, and it was breaking her heart. It only made her want to fight for him even more. After months of worrying about getting too attached to Henry, Emma had finally thrown all caution to the wind and jump in with both feet. All she wanted was her son. Emma sniffed and wiped the escaped tears that she didn't even know she'd shed from her eyes.

"Mind if I join you, Swan?" a British voice asked.

Emma smiled a little, knowing exactly who it was. Killian was never too far away. Since he wasn't involved with the exposé on Regina, the Mayor couldn't find any reason to stop Killian from seeing Henry so he was now the only link Emma had with Henry. The sheriff sat down in the sand next to Emma and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder as he planted a kiss on her hairline.

"How is he?" Emma asked.

"He's not too bad, love. He misses you though, anyone can see that," Killian replied.

"I miss him, too."

"I know you do, love," Killian said, kissing her head once more. "And Henry knows that, too. He knows it's not by choice that you're keeping your distance."

"I did all this to try and keep him safe from her. Now all I've done is push him further towards her," Emma mumbled, feeling absolutely worthless.

Killian shuffled slightly and grabbed Emma's chin, forcing her to look up at him. "Listen to me, Swan. We are going to get him back, I promise you. But in order to do that I need you at peak performance, not feeling sorry for yourself, savvy?"

Emma nodded at him, but all she could think about was _we_. Killian had said _we are going to get him back_ , not just Emma. Killian was as much Henry's parent as Emma was, and she knew that things would be a lot easier if she had Killian fighting beside her.

* * *

David walked up to Mary Margaret's apartment and walked in. He saw his girlfriend look up at him from the sofa and a smile graced her features when she saw who it was.

"Hi," she said, getting up and walking over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, stretching up on her tip toes to reach and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Hi," David replied.

Mary Margaret pulled back from his and dragged him into the kitchen. "What you doing here?" she asked as she began to make two cups of coffee. "Not that I don't want you here, I do, it's just a surprise," she rambled quickly.

David chuckled at her. She had no idea how cute she was when she desperately rambled so as to not hurt anyone's feelings. "I brought some popcorn, thought we could watch a movie."

Mary Margaret smiled at him as she handed him his cup of coffee. "What did you have in mind?"

As the couple got settled on the sofa watching Lady and the Tramp, David's mind wandered to Jynx's idea of the Italian restaurant that did the sharing platter of spaghetti. "Hey, I don't suppose you're doing anything on Valentine's Day, are you?" David asked her, knowing full well that she had no plans.

Mary Margaret lifted her head off his shoulder and smirked at him. "I don't know, I'll have to check my calendar."

David smiled back. "Well, if you're not doing anything, how would you like to accompany me to dinner?"

"I would love that," Mary Margaret replied. She leaned into him and pressed her lips upon his softly. "How did you get time off work? I thought you would have had to badger Killian about that for at least a week."

"He actually gave me the night off before I'd even asked for it. He's planning something at the station for Emma," David answered.

Mary Margaret beamed up at David. "That's wonderful! I'm so happy those two are finally getting together – a blind person would be able to see how much they love each other."

"Almost as much as I love you," David said, not really thinking about what he had just let slip. He felt Mary Margaret tense up under his arm and looked around to see her staring at him with her lips slightly parted.

"You… you just said you loved me," she said, blinking like a rabbit caught in a headlight.

David simply smiled at her. "Yeah, I guess I did. And why shouldn't I say it? I love you, Mary Margaret," David whispered softly.

Instead of replying straight away, the small teacher leaped onto David and began kissing him feverishly, which he happily returned.

"I love you, too, David," Mary Margaret whispered in between kisses, the movie they were watching instantly forgotten about.

This small confession created another tear in the curse that hung over Storybrooke, and that night the town would have another round of strange dreams.


	19. Chapter 18: Something's Missing

**Hey, guys! I'm back! Sorry for the severe lack of updates, things have just been so busy! I've been doing my maths A Level exams these past few weeks and I've got my last one tomorrow. And instead of revising I decided to finish, edit and update this chapter for you all, so that should give you some indication of the level of procrastination I'm at right now. Anyway, I can't promise when the next update will be because, as always, I'm still super busy. However, I'm definitely not giving up on this story. I've now hit over 50 reviews which is just crazy and I cannot thank you guys enough for sticking with me and my story. I hope you guys like this one! ~WG**

* * *

Chapter 18: Something's Missing

 _An ear-splitting shriek pierced through the night as the Jones brothers frantically tried to calm their little sister. It had been almost a week since their father had left them with nothing more than a few coins to help feed Jacquelyn and a note to tell them that he had left and that he wasn't coming back. They weren't coping well to say the least. What little money they had they'd spent within the week buying milk for Jacquelyn; Killian and Liam had already gone without food for the past two days. But now Jacquelyn was hungry, and there was nothing they could give her._

" _Liam, she won't stop crying," a young, 7-year-old Killian cried, tears threatening to spill over._

" _I know, Killian, but there's nothing we can do. We've just got to try and get her to go to sleep," Liam replied, trying to convince himself that if they made it through the night then they would survive._

 _Killian sniffed. He was angry, angrier than a 7-year-old should ever be. The boys were still reeling from the death of their mother 6 months prior, and now their father had abandoned them, taking most of their money with him to spend on drink. He was a dishonourable man, who had no good form whatsoever. It made Killian's blood boil to think that he could ever be related to someone who would do this to their family._

 _All the while, Jacquelyn was screaming at the top of her lungs, only pausing to take a breath so she could begin screaming again. Suddenly, the two boys heard the front door open. Killian quickly grabbed Jacquelyn as Liam grabbed his wooden sword in case he needed to defend his family. An old woman with a haggard face and kind eyes appeared in the doorway. It was Anna-Maria, the seamstress who lived next to them._

" _Does your sister not know how to hold her tongue?" she asked rather irritably, placing her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow at Liam._

 _The eldest brother put down his sword, knowing no harm would come to them from Anna-Maria. "We're sorry she woke you, Anna-Maria," he apologised sincerely, shuffling his feet._

" _Woke me? I never got to sleep, boy! Where's your father?"_

 _The rage inside Killian flared up again. "He left us," he replied, holding Jacquelyn a little tighter to him._

 _A pang of sympathy flashed across Anna-Maria's face. She was a mother herself, though both of her sons were grown up now. However, no matter how long it had been since she'd taken care of someone else, her maternal instinct never left her. The old woman took a step towards Killian and reached out her hands. "Give her to me, boy," she sighed._

 _Killian backed away from her, turning his body to shield his sister. "No," he said defiantly._

" _Killian," she said in a tone that only a mother of particularly stubborn children can master. "She needs a mother's touch and some food, or she won't stop crying. Very likely she will die within the next few days if you don't feed her."_

 _Killian exchanged a look with Liam, waiting for instructions. "Do as she says, Killian," Liam said._

 _Reluctantly, Killian gave Jacquelyn to Anna-Maria, who buried her into her shawl. Almost immediately Jacquelyn's cries went from a shriek to a whimper._

 _Giving the two boys a knowing smile, Anna-Maria sighed. "Come on then, let's get your sister something to eat."_

 _Exchanging another glance with one another, the two boys practically ran after Anna-Maria. The old woman led them into her shop that was also her home._

" _Liam, dear, go into that cupboard over there and fetch some blankets. Killian, upstairs I should still have my old baby basket underneath my bed, go and bring it down for me," the seamstress ordered. The boys carried out their duties with no question. When they came back, Anna-Maria gently wrapped Jacquelyn up in the blankets and placed her in the basket. "Now you two stay here and watch your sister. She'll probably start crying again once I leave but I'll be back soon enough with something that will end her tears." With that, she disappeared into the back of the shop before the Jones brothers heard a door open and close. Sure enough, Jacquelyn started crying again, but she was much quieter than before. Within five minutes, Anna-Maria returned carrying a bottle of milk in her hands._

 _The two brothers moved aside as she approached the basket, and watched her as she picked up their crying sister and gave her the bottle of milk. Immediately Jacquelyn started to suck on the bottle, so much so that Anna-Maria had to take it away so she wouldn't get a stomach ache. Once Jacquelyn was full, she drifted off into a deep sleep, as if she had been asleep for days. The Jones brothers could finally breathe a sigh of relief, which was accompanied by the growl of Killian's stomach. The younger brother looked up sheepishly. Anna-Maria smiled and shook her head. "There's some bread in the kitchen for you boys, you can have whatever's left," she offered warmly._

 _No sooner were the words out of her mouth had Liam and Killian sprinted to the small kitchen. And so this was now their new lives. Liam was the oldest so he went out into the street and begged for spare coins until he was old enough to start working on the docks. Killian helped Anna-Maria in her seamstress shop until he was also ready to join Liam on the docks. In exchange for this, Anna-Maria took care of Jacquelyn while the boys were at work and fed her milk from her cow until she was old enough to eat real food. She attempted to make dresses for Jacquelyn as she grew older, but the child always preferred to be like her brothers in every way, including their dress sense. When Jacqueline was 6, Anna-Maria passed away, and the family was heartbroken. But they never forgot the lessons they had learned from her of kindness and generosity, and they would be eternally grateful to her for saving their little, broken family._

* * *

Mr Gold hated Valentine's Day. It was the worst holiday of the year in his opinion; just an opportunity for couples to boast about being in love and rub other people's nose in it, making them especially sickening on this particular day. He knew of someone who would have loved this holiday though – Belle. There wasn't a day went by that he didn't think about her, but tomorrow would be particularly painful. Knowing that she would have fully immersed herself in this holiday broke his heart that she wasn't there to celebrate it with him. White hot anger bubbled inside of him as he recalled the moment when Regina had told him her father had turned her away, resulting in her ultimate demise. The first time he saw Moe French after he'd gotten his memories back he was surprised he didn't lash out right then and there. However, the legality of a seemingly unprovoked attack was not on his side, so he bided his time. Today though, he was at least getting a little bit of satisfaction as he watched Mr French unload bunches of roses from the back of a van.

"Well, this is just perfect," Gold said, announcing his presence to the florist as he and another man walked over to him. "I've been looking for you, Mr French."

Moe looked panic-stricken as soon as he saw who was speaking. Rumplestiltskin may have had an unprecedented reputation, but so did Mr Gold. "I'll have your money by next week," he pleaded.

Gold relished in the look upon Moe's face. "The terms of the loan were fairly specific. Take the van," he said to the man next to him. Gold's henchman nodded and got into the driver's seat of the van.

"Wait! No! Tomorrow's Valentine's Day. I've got a grand in roses in the back, you've got to let me sell them," French begged as the man started the engine and began to edge the vehicle closer to Mr French, making him back further and further away.

"I'll let you two finish this conversation," Gold said, mildly amused by the scene before him. He turned his back to start walking across the street, ignoring what Moe was shouting at him. As he made it to the side walk, he bumped into Regina who flashed him a devious smile.

"Mr Gold," she greeted him. "That was quite the show back there."

"Well, Mr French is just having a bad day – happens to the best of us."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something," Regina began.

Not wanting to get into any particulars about the curse, Gold cut her off. "Yeah, and the moment you have something I want to discuss, we'll have that little chat," he said, pushing past her.

"No, we're going to do this now," she said, making him stop to face her. "It'll only take a moment."

"Is there something eating you, dear? Something you need to get out in the open? 'Cause it's going to have to wait," he said maliciously. "Please."

Being held to the deal she made back in the Enchanted Forest, Regina let Gold go, staring at him as he walked away. One way or another, she would have their little chat.

* * *

It was a pretty boring day so far at the sheriff station, so needless to say Killian and David were trying to entertain themselves in the only way they knew how – by acting like complete children. A ball of paper came hurtling straight towards David's face, giving him no time to defend himself.

"Ow, come on, Killian! That was right in my eye, we said below the neck only," David complained, reciting the rules of their makeshift dodgeball game.

"Sorry, mate," Killian said, barely concealing a grin.

David rolled his eyes fondly at his friend. To be honest, he was humouring Killian. David could tell the sheriff was nervous about tonight, this being his first real date with Emma. With everything that had gone on over the past few months, the couple never had the chance to go for that drink they had promised each other all those months ago. Well, not tonight. Killian had already told David that he would be damned if he and Emma didn't have a date on Valentine's Day of all days.

"So…" David began.

"I'm not telling you, Dave," Killian said, cutting him off with a small smile.

"Oh, c'mon Kil, I gave up my shift for this, you've got to tell me what you've planned for tonight," David pouted.

Killian raised an eyebrow at him before putting his feet up on his desk and leaning back in his chair. "First off, you wanted tonight off anyway to spend with your own girlfriend. Secondly, you can be a bit of a blabbermouth when you get excited about something and this is supposed to be a surprise for Emma."

"I am not a blabbermouth!"

Killian laughed. "Dave, I'm pretty sure everyone but Mary Margaret knows what you've planned for her tonight, heck, I'll be surprised if she herself doesn't know!"

David opened his mouth to reply but closed it once he realised that was probably true. So what, he couldn't help it! But there was something else that Killian had said that David wasn't going to let slide. "You said 'your own girlfriend'?" David pointed out.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you said 'your own girlfriend' as if you and Emma were official now. Have I missed something?" David asked, placing his elbows on his desk and leaning forward.

Killian sighed. "Emma and I have been dancing around each other for some time now, tonight there's going to be no excuses, no opportunities to run away. I don't even think she wants to run away anymore. So after tonight, there's every possibility that Emma and I will be official, as you put it."

"Bit presumptuous of you, don't you think?" David said mockingly.

Killian flashed a smile at his friend and colleague. "Trust me mate, tonight is going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back when it comes to Emma's stubbornness. It's going to be the final blow before her walls come tumbling down."

Before David could respond, the phone began to ring. Killian gave an exasperated glance towards David and picked up the phone, expecting a noise complaint from Walter Scott who was always sleeping and didn't understand that it's acceptably for people to make noise during the day because nobody is _supposed_ to be sleeping. On the other end of the phone was a quite a different matter though.

"What was that?" David asked when Killian put the phone down, already getting up to fetch their jackets sensing that they would be heading out.

"One of Mr Gold's neighbours, apparently they heard the burglar alarm and wanted us to check it out."

David's eyebrows rose. "Wow, whoever tries to steal from Gold must be a really brave or really stupid guy.

Killian shrugged. "I dunno, I kinda like the sound of him if I'm honest," the sheriff replied, flashing his deputy a devilish smile.

* * *

At Granny's, Emma and Mary Margaret were sitting down with their steaming cups of coffee in their hands, talking about nothing in particular. Mary Margaret could tell Emma was avoiding the subject of Henry, so she was humouring her for now.

"So, what have you and David got planned for tonight? And should I make arrangements to stay somewhere else for the night after I finish my shift?" Emma asked with a suggestive arch of her eyebrow.

A blush crept into Mary Margaret's cheeks as she rolled her eyes at her roommate. "For your information, I don't know what he's planned, it's a surprise. And the loft will be perfectly adequate for you to sleep in tonight."

Emma smirked at her.

Mary Margaret couldn't help but smile back at her. "Anyway, if we decide to do any other activities after our date we would go back to David's room at Granny's."

"He's still living at the B'n'B?" Emma asked, mildly surprised.

"It's like you said, there's no vacancies in town. Part of the curse, remember," her friend replied, lifting her coffee to her lips. Emma smiled softly as she thought about Henry's curse, before her thoughts drifted to Henry himself and the smile fell from her face.

Mary Margaret's hand shot out to grab Emma's. The blonde looked up from her coffee cup into the school teacher's green eyes. "Henry's fine," she said with a small smile.

"Really?" Emma asked, not even the least bit surprised Mary Margaret knew what she was thinking about. Their friendship had really grown over the last few months and now it was as if they'd known each other all their lives.

"Really," Mary Margaret said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Regina can't keep you separated forever. When two people are meant to be together, they find a way."

"So he's his normal self? He's happy?"

"Yes," Mary Margaret said.

The selfish part of Emma must have been showing her true feelings, because straight away Mary Margaret contradicted herself.

"No! He misses you – a lot. Trust me, I'm with him for like six hours a day."

"Six hours?" A voice said from behind them. "You take newborns? 'Cause I'd love six hours off," Ashley said. She handed her baby over to Granny and joined the girls at their table.

"Ashley, I didn't even recognise you," Emma said, beaming at the younger girl.

"Baby on the outside?" the young blonde joked.

"How's it going?" Emma asked.

"It's, uh… It's, uh… I mean, baby's great, but we really haven't had time to do the whole getting married thing," Ashley began, grimacing slightly. "So, that's been rough. And Sean's been working double shifts at the cannery."

"Well, he has to work," Mary Margaret said sympathetically.

"On Valentine's Day? Yeah. He couldn't get out of it," Ashley replied.

"I'm sorry. That sucks," responded Emma.

"It doesn't have to," Ruby said, sauntering over to their table. "Come out with me. Let's have a girl's night. We can all go. Mary Margaret – Emma, too. If you leave the badge at home. I can call Jynx and see if she's free, which she will be."

"Sorry, Ruby, the badge is staying on tonight, I'm working," Emma answered.

"What? It's Valentine's Night!" the dark haired girl protested.

"Killian's on the nightshift, too," Mary Margaret piped up, shooting Ruby a wink.

Emma attempted not to roll her eyes – apparently the whole town knew about her and Killian's little game they had going on. People even had bets on when they were gonna get together according to Mary Margaret. Though Emma couldn't help but smile a little bit. Today was Valentine's Day, and she would be on the nightshift with Killian. She had no doubts that he had planned something, but he probably didn't know that Emma had a few tricks up her sleeve, too.

"Right, I see," Ruby smirked, drawing Emma's attention back to the women in front of her. "So if those two are on the nightshift it means that David isn't working, so that's you out of the girls' night."

"Afraid so," the teacher said, not sounding sorry at all.

"Urgh," Ruby groaned. "Ashley?"

"Alright, if I can get someone to look after baby Alex."

"Don't you worry about that, hon," Granny shouted over. "I'll look after her."

"It's settled then, I'll give Jynx a call," Ruby said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

As Ruby walked away, the other three women gave one another a knowing look. Ruby was nothing if not determined. Suddenly, Emma's phone buzzed.

"Everything okay?" Mary Margaret asked, seeing Emma frowning at her phone.

"Just work. There seems to be a little more criminal activity toay than your average day in Storybrooke. Killian needs my help so I'd better get along to the station," Emma replied.

"When doesn't Killian need you?" Mary Margaret retorted.

"I'll see you guys later, it was good seeing you again, Ashley," Emma said, ignoring Mary Margaret's comment.

The girls watched Emma walk through the door before they glanced at each other.

"When are those two gonna admit they're head-over-heels for each other?" Ruby asked from behind the counter.

Mary Margaret smiled. "I don't think it'll be long now."

* * *

At around midday, Killian and David got a call from Mr Gold's neighbour saying that they heard the burglar alarm going off. Following Gold's hunch about a Mr Moe French, they'd rounded up all of the stolen goods in under four hours with some help from Emma. All that was left to do was to actually find Moe. They called Mr Gold to let him know they'd found his stuff and he arrived at the station ten minute later.

"Ta-da," Emma said, pulling back the sheet to reveal his possessions underneath.

"You were right, we found all of this at Moe French's shop," Killian said, leaning against his desk with his arms crossed.

"And the man himself?" Gold asked as he scanned the table of stolen goods.

"Closing in on him," Emma responded.

"Job well half-done then," Gold bit, turning around to face the three cops.

"Hey, show a bit of respect," David said, not happy with the way he was speaking to Emma.

"We got everything back in less than a day, Gold, protocol says you should be grateful to us," Killian said dangerously. Yeah, it was his job to get the stuff back, but still, Gold should have at least said thank you. He really didn't like that guy.

"You've recovered nothing, there's something missing," Gold growled, heading towards the door.

"We'll get it when we find him," Emma shouted after him.

Gold smirked maliciously to himself. "Not if I find him first…"

* * *

Emma rolled her eyes at Gold's melodrama once he'd left the station. "Now what?" she asked.

"Now, you're going to go home and get some sleep before your nightshift starts," Killian said, ushering Emma round the corner and out of the door with an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Emma pulled out of his grip before he managed to get her out the door and turned to stare up at him. Killian's breath hitched in his throat as he looked down at the beautiful woman he would be trying to win over tonight.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I would think you were trying to get rid of me, Sheriff," Emma said, raising an eyebrow at him.

Killian's heart started beating faster. "Why would you think that, Swan? I just want my best deputy sharp for tonight. There's a burglar on the loose if you hadn't heard."

A cough interrupted their brief flirting battle. "Excuse me, best deputy?" David shouted from around the corner.

Killian attempted not to roll his eyes. Of course David had been eavesdropping. Returning his gaze to Emma, he saw her smirking up at him. "If you say so, Jones," she replied. The blonde deputy took another step towards him and reached up to brush her lips against the stubble on his cheek. "I'll see you tonight."

And with that, Emma pushed the door open and walked over to her yellow bug. Once she was out of sight, Killian lifted his fingers up to his cheek and skimmed the part of his face that Emma had planted a kiss on. He could feel the heat radiating from his face, but whether it was from the blush that had crept onto his features or from the pressure of Emma's lips, he had no idea. Turning around to walk back into the office, he smiled to himself. After tonight, he and Emma would definitely be official.

* * *

As soon as Emma was in her bug she let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding in. _What the hell was that, Swan?_ She felt like banging her head against the steering wheel. It wasn't that she was scared of rejection, she knew how Killian felt about her. Well, at the minute anyway. But the more she thought about it, the more she realised that she was tired of running away. With everything going on recently, Emma had plenty of excuses to postpone their little 'drink' but the more she procrastinated about it, the more she longed for it. She wanted to pursue whatever she and Killian had going on. She hadn't felt like that since… No, Killian was not Neal. And she would not back out of this. It was Valentine's Day, and she would be damned if she didn't make a move before the day was out!

* * *

Jynx had just gotten off the phone with Ruby. Looks like her date with Mr Vodka would have to be put on hold for tonight since her friend was dragging her out for a girls' night. Still, Jynx supposed it was time to expand her circle of friends and Ruby said that another girl was going tonight – what was her name? Amy? No, Ashley! – so she would have to suck it up and socialise for once.

A dog barked from the kennel room, causing Jynx to jump. It was a good job Paige was coming in again later; Billy had called in sick again and David was too busy at work to come over to feed the dogs. And they sounded hungry. As much as Jynx hated dogs, she would never purposefully keep food from them. She worked in an animal shelter, it was in the job description that she had to be an animal lover. She just favoured cats a lot more.

Trying to drown out the noise of barking dogs, Jynx returned to her game of solitaire. She saw that the king of clubs was free, and went to move the queen onto it but hesitated, her hand hovering over the card. Ever since that night where she'd picked the cards up off the floor, she'd been wary about the Queen of Hearts. That freaky episode she had was enough to warrant confusion, but the dreams she'd been having were convincing her that she was having some sort of psychotic breakdown. They were never very coherent, just flashes and scraps of information, but they were vivid. Bright splashes of red came to haunt her every night, sometimes in the form of red lipstick and sometimes in the form of crimson blood. It was kind of beginning to freak her out a bit now – she'd even gone as far as to throw out all her red flannel shirts. Maybe she should tell David, he might know what to do? Or Archie maybe, he was a therapist after all.

The bell at the top of the door (they finally got a new one!) signalled Paige's arrival and pulled Jynx out of her thoughts. Probably a good thing, too; Jynx as spending more time inside her own head than she was in the real world. It was enough to drive anyone mad.


	20. Chapter 19: Valentine's Night

**Hey guys, I'm back! I want to keep this AN pretty short but I had so much fun writing this chapter, the couples in this are just so cute! I hope you guys enjoy, review or PM me with any questions you might have. ~WG**

* * *

Chapter 19: Valentine's Night

Emma took one last look in the mirror before she left for work. _This is as good as it's going to get, Swan._ There was not much she could experiment with in terms of dolling herself up since she was still technically going to work so it was jeans and a jumper for her. Although, she had went to the extra effort of blending a hint of purple eyeshadow onto her lid to make her green eyes pop a little bit more. Trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach, Emma took a deep breath. _Relax, Swan. It's just a nightshift. With Killian. Just Killian. On Valentine's Day…_

Shoving her thoughts to the back of her mind, Emma picked up the small present she bought for Killian (sue her, it was Valentine's Day!) and walked down the stairs into the main living area of the loft where she was immediately ambushed by Mary Margaret.

"Silver or gold?" the pixie-like woman blurted out.

"Huh?"

"Silver or gold, which jewellery should I wear?" she elaborated, holding a silver earring up to one ear and a gold one to the other.

Emma smiled at her friend. She looked truly beautiful tonight with the simple yet elegant purple mini dress she had chosen that clung to her petite frame in just the right way. Her fair skin wasn't caked in makeup the way that some girls do when they're on a date; just the barest hint of pink blush and a small flick of brown eyeliner at the outer corner of her lid. Emma couldn't help but feel like a giddy teenager, something she had never really felt before. Growing up she'd never had a best friend who she could talk to about boys or clothes or makeup, and now that Mary Margaret was in her life she was catching up on everything she had missed.

"Emma, hello?" Mary Margaret pushed, pulling Emma back to reality.

"Right, jewellery. I think silver, compliments your skin tone better."

Mary Margaret nodded. "Okay, silver it is." She walked over to the table where it seemed all of her jewellery was piled on and picked a couple silver items up.

"Can I ask why you're getting so worked up about this? You and David have been on loads of dates before," Emma pointed out.

"Valentine's Day is just… different. It's special. I mean, I still love him just as much on any other day, I can't really explain it. I just want things to be perfect for our first Valentine's Day."

Emma nodded at her friend. She knew where she was coming from. Sure, Emma and Killian weren't technically a couple, but she could just tell that tonight was gonna be special.

"Shouldn't you be getting to your own date?" Mary Margaret asked cheekily.

Emma blushed slightly. "It's not a date, it's work," she insisted.

"Then why have you bought something for Killian for Valentine's Day?" Mary Margaret pointed out, gesturing to the box with Killian's name on the lid.

Emma opened her mouth to respond but had no answer.

Mary Margaret walked over to the blonde and placed her hands on Emma's shoulders. "I think we both know that Killian has planned something for you guys."

Emma smiled slightly. "I'm nervous. I've never been on a real date before," she admitted.

"Emma, this is Killian. You don't have to do anything to impress him; he knows you and he feels the way he does about you because of who you are. You'll be fine," Mary Margaret reassured her, careful not to use the word 'love' in case it frightened her away.

Her reassurance seemed to work as Emma took a deep breath and smiled. "Guess I'd better get going then."

* * *

Killian was bustling about the station, preparing the last finishing touches of changing the station into a romantic setting. Well, as romantic as it could get. He'd only had a few hours between Emma leaving the station and her coming back for the nightshift so he'd done as much as he could. He'd moved all of the desks into either his office or the stock room, and pulled the small but sufficient table from the wall into the centre of the room. He'd also put a white sheet in front of the bulletin board and found the old projector from the stock room, which thankfully still worked. It wasn't ideal, but it was still dinner and a movie. He'd just finished placing the table cloth over the table when he heard the station door open. _Okay, Jones, this is it._

Emma walked into the station and paused at the slight in front of her, a small smile creeping onto her face. Killian felt his breath catch in his throat; was there anything more beautiful on this earth than Emma Swan? Her attire was simple enough, but she could have been wearing a bin bag and Killian would still think she was perfect. Her golden hair had a gentle curl to it, and her green eyes popped a little bit more tonight, though he couldn't put his finger on why. She took a couple of steps forward until she was within a few feet of Killian, her eyes dashing around the room and taking in the transformation of it all.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Swan," he breathed. This was it, this was the moment where she either ran to him or ran away from him. Killian crossed his fingers behind his back, the silence seeming to drag on forever until…

"Happy Valentine's Day, Jones," Emma replied, a subtle smile gracing her lips. She pulled a small black box out from behind her back and handed it over to him. The sheriff took it from her hands, a wide grin spreading across his face because Emma had bought him a Valentine's gift. His face suddenly fell as he looked up into her eyes.

"I don't have anything for you, Swan. I'm sorry."

To his surprise, Emma laughed. "I'd hardly call this nothing, Killian," she said, gesturing to the room they were in. To Emma, it looked like a scene straight out of a movie. She saw Killian smiling back at her, the small crinkles around his sea blue eyes making them sparkle. "Well, aren't you gonna open it?"

Killian lifted off the lid and his eyes widened in shock. Emma smiled at his reaction – she'd clearly had the right idea when she thought of this. Killian was a tricky man to buy for, mainly because he didn't care about material value, he only wanted what he needed. But this wasn't exactly materialistic.

"This is Graham's compass," Killian stated, picking the item out of the box and lowering it into his palm, the silver chain pooling around it. He took a step back and leaned against the table.

Emma nodded. "I got the idea from Ava and Nicholas. I knew Graham had one because I remember him having it when we were looking for David. I found it in the box of his old stuff. For some reason I'd never noticed it before I started looking through his things again last week. But I figured since you're always by the ocean and Henry thinks that it's something to do with your old life, that a compass was perfectly suited for you." While she was talking, Emma had moved closer to Killian to stand beside him and look at the compass. They were both thinking about the same thing: Graham.

Emma felt Killian's arm around her shoulders and let him pull her closer to him, her head resting on his shoulder. After a few moments, Killian broke their peaceful silence. "Thank you for this, Emma. I really don't know what to say."

"Say you've got food because I am starving," Emma said, pulling away from Killian and giving him a wink. "Mary Margaret wouldn't let me eat anything before I left because she was convinced that whatever you had planned involved food and she didn't want to spoil my appetite."

Killian smirked at the image of Mary Margaret catching Emma trying to sneak a cookie and telling her off. "Well, Swan. She was quite right, I have gotten us food," Killian replied, going into the stock room and returning with a takeout bag. "Now, it just needs heating up in the microwave but I doubt that will hinder the taste of Granny's homemade lasagne."

Emma beamed at him. "Granny's lasagne is my favourite!"

Killian raised an eyebrow at her. "I know it is, why do you think I got it, Swan?" he said cockily.

Emma smirked at him as he walked away to heat their food up while she took a seat at the table in the middle of the room. If someone told her this time last year she would be on a date, on Valentine's Day, she would have laughed in their face. If they said this date would be with a guy who was everything she wanted and needed, in a town where she had found a family and a stable job, she probably would have punched them in the face because it was just too damn painful to think about those kind of things. But now… Killian had crept his way into Emma's heart without her even realising until it was too late, he even knew he favourite food, for God's sake! Those walls that she had carefully built up over all those years had been demolished by the small things that he did for her, the small ways in which he showed he cared and reassured her that he wasn't going anywhere. And she honestly didn't care that her walls were down. At first it had scared her, but she kept repeating to herself that Killian wasn't Neal. She knew that Neal would never have done anything like this for her, hell, Neal probably didn't even know what day of the year Valentine's Day was. But Killian was just so different in so many ways.

The man in question returned balancing two plates of steaming lasagne on one arm and holding two mugs in the other. "Show off," Emma muttered as he placed her mug and food down in front of her.

"I heard that, Swan," Killian said, smirking at her.

"Good, you were meant to," she shot back at him.

Killian smiled. "Well, anyway. Since we're both on duty we can't drink any alcohol, but I got us the next best thing," he said, reaching behind his chair a pulling a thermos flask up off the floor. He unscrewed the cap and poured in the brown, molten liquid into Emma's mug.

"Hot chocolate," she said. "Innovative."

"Taste it," Killian told her.

Emma raised an eyebrow at him, but did as he said. Her eye widened as soon as the liquid hit her taste buds, a sharp spice dancing on her tongue. "Cinnamon," Emma said.

Killian laughed. "Remember that time when Henry bought you cinnamon hot chocolate, and you thought it was Graham trying to flirt with you?"

Emma chuckled. "Yeah, that was a little embarrassing."

Killian shook his head. "No, what was embarrassing was Graham's actual attempts to flirt with you," he responded, causing the couple to laugh even more.

The rest of their date continued much like that, reminiscing about the times they had with Graham, times they had with Henry, the good memories they had together and of Storybrooke. Once Killian had cleared their plates, he placed the projector on the table and fiddled around with it until he managed to project the movie onto the white sheet on the wall. Emma was sitting on the old sofa smiling at the proud smirk Killian was wearing after he finally managed to get the projector to work. _Dork._

The soft sound of a piano filled the room as the movie opened in a forest scene with a deer drinking from a pond beside a waterfall. Emma raised an eyebrow at Killian. "Is this a Disney movie?" she asked him.

"Emma, this is the Disney movie to end all Disney movies," Killian retorted as he sat next to her, shocked that she'd apparently never seen it.

"Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish and unkind…"

As they settled into the movie and watched Belle meander through the village, Emma had never felt more relaxed. At some point Killian had laced his fingers through hers, and by the time Belle and the Beast were dancing in the ballroom Emma's head was leaning on Killian's chest with his arm resting over her shoulders. Towards the end of the film when the Beast died, Killian could have sworn he even saw Emma wipe a tear away from her eye.

Once the projector cut out, Emma and Killian stayed in the same position for a few minutes. Emma sat up a bit so she could look up at Killian. "I liked that movie," she decided.

Killian chuckled, and Emma felt it vibrate through his chest. It was… comforting. "I thought you might. You might have everyone else fooled, Swan, but I know you're a hopeless romantic," he said sarcastically.

"Shhh, not so loud, Jones. I have a reputation to uphold," Emma retorted, equally as sarcastic. The pair laughed before they lapsed back into comfortable silence.

After a few moments, Emma spoke again. "How's Henry?" she asked as she traced random shapes on Killian's shirt with her fingers.

"He misses his Mum, there's no question about that. But other than that he's fine," Killian replied, holding Emma a little tighter.

"Do you think things with Regina have been a little quiet recently? Almost like…"

"The calm before the storm?" Killian finished for her. Emma looked up at him and nodded. "Yes, I've been wondering that too, Swan. But let's not worry about that tonight, hm?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Emma said. Another few moments passed, Killian deciding to amuse himself by playing with a lock of Emma's hair, which she didn't mind at all.

"Killian?"

"Yes, love?"

"Thank you for tonight," Emma said. "I know I've only ever been on one date, but I'm pretty sure this is the best date ever," she said, smiling up at him.

Not for the first time tonight, Killian's breath hitched in his throat. "Who said anything about this being a date, Swan?" he asked, trying to be sarcastic but his voice losing its mirth as he gazed into her bright green eyes.

Emma playfully slapped his chest. "I mean it, Killian. Nobody has ever done anything like this for me, and I don't just mean the date. I'm talking about having the patience to wait for me, and being stubborn enough to break down my walls, and never pushing me into anything I wasn't ready for." Emma shifted in his arms so that she was fully facing him, his sea blue eyes turning just a shade darker. _If you're gonna do it, Swan, you might want to do it now._

Emma took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Well, I'm ready now," she said, as she closed the gap between them.

Their lips had barely skimmed one another's before the station phone interrupted them, the ear-splitting tone refusing to be ignored. Emma and Killian parted their lips, their foreheads still touching. "Seriously?" the blonde sighed. She'd finally plucked up the courage to start something with Killian and they get interrupted. By a phone of all things.

Killian's light chuckle caused Emma's eyes to open. "Believe me, Swan, I'm not happy about this either. But we are still technically on duty," the sheriff pointed out, making Emma relax a little bit.

"Whatever, sheriff," she said with a smirk, getting up off the sofa to answer the phone. Turns out a civilian had heard some shouts and screaming from an old, abandoned warehouse near the beach and wanted them to go and check it out.

Emma put the phone down and walked over to the coat stand to get both of their leather jackets. "The one time we actually get an action," Emma said, mainly to herself.

"To what kind of action are you referring to, Swan?" Killian asked her with a wink as he took his jacket from her.

Emma felt a blush heat her face up. "Get your head out of the gutter, Jones. We have work to do," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, boss," Killian replied, following her out the door. This definitely wasn't over yet. In fact, it was just starting…

* * *

David headed round to Mary Margaret's at 6:30 since he knew Emma would be at work by the time he got there. To say he was nervous was putting it mildly. Sure, he and Mary Margaret had been on lots of dates, but this was their first Valentine's Day. It had to be special! He knocked on the door and waited outside, his anticipation growing with every second. After what seemed like an age, Mary Margaret opened the door… and took David's breath away.

She was wearing a little purple dress that made her pale complexion simply glow. The dress cut off just above the knee and clung to her tightly so it didn't leave much to the imagination. Her dark hair had been styled so that it framed her delicate face, which was enhanced by the light makeup she wore, particularly the brown swoop of liner that made her forest green eyes shine like that stars on a dark night. Mary Margaret cleared her throat and David realised he'd been staring.

"Mary Margaret, you look incredible," he said, drinking in her appearance.

"Thank you, David. You look rather handsome yourself," she said, a light blush tinting her cheeks. After another few seconds, David remembered the flowers he was holding.

"Uh, these are for you," he said, thrusting the bouquet of snow drops and lilies in front of him. _Smooth, David…_ a voice said in his head which sounded annoyingly like Jynx. Mary Margaret didn't seem to notice though.

"How sweet, I love snow drops!" she exclaimed, taking the flowers off him. "I'll just quickly put these in a vase, do you want to come in for a minute?"

"Sure," David said, becoming more relaxed with every moment he was in her presence. He didn't understand how he could be so nervous to meet someone and then perfectly relaxed when he was actually with them. David sat down on the sofa as he watched Mary Margaret trim the stems and put the flowers in a glass vase.

"Ready to go?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he replied, jumping off the sofa. He reached for Mary Margaret's black coat from the pegs behind her door and helped her into it. "After you," he said, opening the door for her.

The restaurant was a hit with the couple, a perfect idea from Jynx. He had taken her advice and order the meatballs for two – they really were delicious. The couple seemed to talk for hours, never once having difficulty trying to make conversation. They did this a lot actually; David was surprised they still had anything left to talk about! It was almost 9:30 by the time they left the restaurant, both of them sufficiently wined and dined. They were walking hand-in-hand back to David's truck, huddling close together to fight off the cold February evening chill.

"I've had a really nice time tonight, David," Mary Margaret said once they were back in the deputy's truck.

"I'm glad, and hopefully it's about to get even better," David said, looking over at her to smile briefly before he returned his eyes to the road.

Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow at him. "What have you got planned?"

David smirked. "It's a surprise."

Fifteen minutes later, David had parked his truck in the small car park next to the spot he was taking his date to and helped Mary Margaret out of the truck. "Close your eyes," he whispered to her. She did as he asked with no questions, trusting him completely. Finding it more convenient to carry her over to the viewing spot rather than guiding her over the tree roots, he swept her off her feet (quite literally), smirking at the surprised squeak she let out. It only took him about a minute or two to reach the small bench that overlooked the town and he placed her down on it gently before going behind the bench and placing his hands over her eyes.

"Okay, open," he said taking his hands off her eyes.

Mary Margaret gasped. In all her years living in Storybrooke, she had never once been up here. It was truly breath-taking. The whole town was bathed in the golden light of the street lamps, and just off into the distance Mary Margaret could see the moon's reflection rippling on the sea.

"This is beautiful!" she breathed, scared that if she spoke too loud she would ruin the moment.

"Isn't it?" David said, but he wasn't looking at the view.

"How on earth did you find this place?" Mary Margaret asked, turning towards him with an awed expression on her face.

"I didn't. Jynx did, she suggested that I take you here. No matter how tough she claims to be, apparently she watches a lot of crappy romance movies," David chuckled.

Mary Margaret giggled. "Well, tell her she did an excellent job of planning our date, it's been the perfect Valentine's Day," the small teacher said, leaning up to give David a kiss.

The small chaste kiss which she had originally intended soon turned into something far more passionate. David leaned in to deepen the kiss and Mary Margaret's hands shot up to tangle in his hair, pulling him even closer towards her. The deputy dipped his head lower to pepper kisses down Mary Margaret's neck, focusing particularly on the sensitive spot on her neck. Her soft gasps made David smirk, filling him with a sort of pride that he couldn't remember having ever felt before. Suddenly, Mary Margaret shuddered, but whether it was because of him or the cold David was unsure.

"Maybe we should take this somewhere warmer," he suggested, holding Mary Margaret's facing in his hand, his thumbs gently grazing over her cheek bones.

"Fine by me," she said, her voice still a little wispy from the kiss that took her by surprise.

Without wasting anymore time, the pair jumped inside David's truck and he drove back to the inn, without making a stop at the loft…

* * *

It was now 10 o'clock and Jynx was having the best Valentine's night she could remember. Usually Ruby would be out with her flirt of the week and since Jynx had a limited circle of friends, that meant staying at home alone watching a crappy movie with a bottle of wine. Or something stronger. But this was the first year in a while that Jynx had actually had a good time on Valentine's Day. Come to think of it, she couldn't really remember a year where she hadn't just stayed in the house…

"Jynx, I don't mean to alarm you, but there is a real hottie staring at you at 3 o'clock," Ruby whispered to her.

Jynx's eyes widened as alarm bells sounded through her head. Usually it was Ruby the guys looked at. Now, if Jynx was a normal person, she would have been subtle about sneaking a peak at him, maybe by flipping her hair behind her shoulder and risking a quick glance at him. But Jynx was not a normal person, so when she heard this she whipped her head round and instantly made direct eye contact with him.

Ruby was right, he was hot. He was around 6ft tall, with broad shoulders that tapered down to his hips. The guy had amazing bone structure too, although Jynx thought that if he smiled it would lift his face even more, and make him a little less creepy. This guy was really… intense with his eyes. He was on the other side of the room and she could still tell that his eyes were a bright blue. Which were looking right at her. _Great,_ Jynx thought, _I'm locked in a staring competition with Hottie McHotterson over there._

Being the ever-stubborn woman she was, she kept staring at him, refusing to blink. He stared back, also not blinking, but not really as if he was trying, more like he was curious about her. Like he was assessing her, almost. After what seemed like a few years, Jynx heard Ashley giggle at their staring competition, and the man at the bar looked away, almost as if he'd heard the blonde girl laughing, too. Allowing herself a quick smirk at her victory, Jynx turned her attention back to her two friends.

"What the hell was that about?" Ashley asked, still laughing at Jynx.

Jynx shrugged with a small smile on her face. She liked Ashley, and was glad she'd agreed to come out tonight. The pair couldn't have been more different, but Ashley accepted Jynx for all her weird quirks, even though she didn't necessarily understand them, and that was good enough for Jynx.

"Staking my claim as the alpha male," Jynx responded taking another drink of her vodka and coke.

Ruby rolled her eyes at her friend. "I've just spotted another guy by the door so I'm gonna go say hi," she excused herself, prowling through the bar towards the man she'd been talking about. Ashley and Jynx looked at each other and smirked. Poor guy, he had no idea what was about to hit him. Ashley's smile fell a little too quickly for Jynx's liking and the short, blue-haired girl became concerned.

"What's up?" she asked, shuffling her chair closer to the table.

Ashley sighed. "I'm just thinking about Sean. We just never get to see each other because he's always working."

Ah yes, Jynx had heard about Ashley's significant other. It must be tough for them. Ashley was barely 20 years old and had managed to support herself through her pregnancy alone. When Sean had finally manned up and decided to go back to Ashley, his father had disowned him, so they only had each other to rely on for support.

"I just thought love would be different," the blonde moped.

Jynx was never really a fan of being soppy, but she decided that Ashley needed some comfort right about now, so she grabbed her hand. "Listen, love isn't like a fairy tale. It's not leaving the ball at midnight and Prince Charming finding your shoe. But it manifests in much more powerful ways. Sean, he's a good guy, Ash. I can probably count the number of guys who would work as hard as he does for you and Alex on one hand. You knew that this wasn't going to be easy, but just because it's not easy doesn't mean you're not in love. In fact, it probably means the opposite."

Ashley smiled at Jynx with a solemn look in her eyes. "How is it no one has snatched you up yet, Jynx?"

"Guess I'm just too good for everyone," she replied, flashing Ashley her best smile as she wondered about that herself. Spotting a figure just behind Ashley, Jynx's eyes lit up and her smile became genuine. "You know what, I think I'm gonna get another drink. I'd ask you if you want one, but I have a feeling you won't be staying here very long anyway," Jynx said, staying just long enough to see Ashley's confused expression before she hopped off her stool.

Jynx pulled her tight black dress that had managed to shimmy up her legs back down to a semi-appropriate length and walked over to the bar. She debated buying a bottle of champagne for the soon-to-be happy couple but she knew Sean would probably have to go back to work. Plus, let's be real, as if she could afford champagne anyway. Suddenly, a massive wall of flesh grazed past her and almost sent her flying. Retaining her balance (which was difficult in the shoes she was wearing) she turned around expecting an apology.

"Hey, I know I'm small but I'm pretty fricking hard to miss with blue hair!" she shouted after him. The man turned around and Jynx realised it was Mr Hot-Creepy-Intense-Blue-Eyes from the bar. _Of course it would be him._

"Then maybe you shouldn't be so arrogant as to think people would notice you and take a little more care of where you're going," he responded. Jynx registered the insult, but didn't really compute it until she got over how velvety smooth his voice was.

Flashing back to reality, Jynx saw red. "Oh, you're gonna have a hard time not noticing me once I'm through with you, pretty boy," she seethed, beginning to square up to him. Jynx was never one to back down from a fight, even with a guy who was almost a foot taller than her and probably double her weight. But what really ticked her off was the smile he flashed that was almost condescending. He pulled out a bottle of champagne from behind his back and handed it over to her.

"You'd better hurry if you want to give this to your friend," he said with a small smirk.

Jynx frowned at him as she held the bottle and glanced over to Sean and Ashley who were in the middle of an embrace. When she turned back to tell him to shove his champagne where the sun doesn't shine, he was already gone.

 _Mad, that one,_ she thought to herself.

* * *

Killian had one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding Emma's hand. Although this was a minor blip in their date, he was thrilled with how well it had went. They had even kissed! Well, sort of, but she was about to kiss him. He couldn't keep the grin off his face and Emma could definitely tell how happy he was because every time she looked over at him a small smirk would creep onto her face. Emma was the only person who had complete power over Killian, with the possible exception of Henry. As they were nearing their destination, Emma suddenly squeezed Killian's hand and he immediately tensed up.

"What is it?" the sheriff responded, his police instincts kicking in.

"You didn't hear that?" Emma asked, turning to him. She quickly got out the car and Killian followed suit. Both of the officers gave each other a worried glance as they listened to carefully to the silence surrounding them.

Killian barely saw Emma move before he took off after her, running towards one of the warehouses beside the beach. He soon overtook Emma and burst through the door of the warehouse to find Mr Gold beating up Moe French with his cane, screaming incoherently about something being his fault. Killian grabbed Gold's arm as he drew his cane back and pulled him away from the florist, shoving him into the centre of the room.

In that instant, Gold reminded Killian of someone he once knew, with cold, leathery skin akin to that of a crocodile's. Shaking the image out of his head, he raised his gun towards Gold. "Stay where you are, Gold," he commanded, his hatred for the man bubbling to the surface. The sheriff briefly registered Emma kneeling over Moe as she called for an ambulance.

Everything after that was a blur. Until they had Gold behind bars, Killian was working through a fog of blind rage, though he couldn't for the life of him figure out the reason why. Once Gold was securely locked up, he finally began to relax. It probably helped that Gold hadn't said a word the entire time they were with him, because that would have only goaded Killian further. Finally, Killian locked up the station and met Emma who was waiting outside for him. The smile she gave him melted all the remaining traces of anger he felt, like butter seeping into warm toast.

"You okay?" she asked, leaning against her car as she watched him walk over to her. He stood in front of her and her slender arms circled around his waist while his came up around her back.

"I am now," he responded, flashing her a devilish smile.

She smirked up at him. "So, before we were rudely interrupted, I believe we were in the mid…"

Whatever Emma was about to say next was left unsaid, as Killian swooped down to cut her off. This passion throughout their kiss had been building up for months, and was finally released in that moment. Killian's hands came up to tangle in Emma's hair, and she pulled him closer by the ends of his leather jacket. It started off as pure passion, a messy series of kisses driven with a force neither of them thought they had, and then calmed into something more tender, that said the words that neither of them could say just yet.

The couple finally broke away from each other, both slightly starved of breath and rested their foreheads against one another as they had before. "Do you think we should call it a night, Swan, or would you prefer to take this someplace else?" Killian whispered huskily.

Emma opened her eyes and gazed into the eyes she always got lost in. This was the so-called point of no return. Everything would be different if she went through with this. But for the first time in her life, Emma wasn't scared. "You running out on me already, Jones?" she responded playfully.

Killian's beam almost split his face in half. "Never," he responded, before stealing another quick peck and pulling Emma over to his car to drive back to his flat.

* * *

He sat up in the highest room of his mansion, the one that had his telescope in. Trying to reach the Saviour would be a problem now that she had the pirate on her arm. There was never anyone as tenacious as he, the man thought, smirking despite himself. Strange though, it would be interesting to see what his reaction would be when he got his memories back and remembered Milah. He then turned his telescope to the other side of town, where the animal shelter was. He'd finally met her properly for the first time tonight. She was… an interesting character, at least. But he knew she took care of Grace and looked out for her. And she wasn't afraid to defend herself or others, clearly demonstrated by her little display tonight. As long a she continued to do that, he knew that he could trust her, no matter how crazy she seemed to be. But then again, we're all mad here…


	21. Chapter 20: Consequences

**Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter. These summer holidays have been pretty hectic for me so I'm really happy to get this chapter done. I go on holiday on Sunday though so I probably won't be doing any writing until halfway through September because I'll have to get settled back into school. Also, ITS RESULTS DAY ON THURSDAY SO PRAY FOR ME! I'm going into my second year of A levels but I get my maths results on Thursday so a lot of procrastination about that has gone into writing this chapter. Unfortunately this is more of a filler chapter but there's some cute CS moments so don't hate me too much for the lack of action in this chapter. I'm also aware that I haven't focused on Regina much in this story which irritates me a little so I've put a small Regina scene in there. To be honest, I find her really difficult to write but I'm going to try and focus on her a lot more in the coming chapters as we near the end of season one. Anyway, I've been rambling for far too long now so I'm gonna stop here. Hope you guys enjoy!** **~WG**

* * *

Chapter 20: Consequences

After many hours and pricked fingers, August was finally done with adding his story to Henry's book. If there was anyone who would be able to figure this out, it would be Henry. August knew it would be an incredibly hard job to make Emma believe on her own; she was a sceptic. And even though he knew the curse was wearing off on Killian, he also knew that the sheriff didn't like or trust him, so there was no hope in employing him to help break the curse on August's behalf. So it fell to Henry.

He turned the book over in his hands, admiring his handiwork. It wasn't exactly the woodwork he was used to, but August could pretty much turn his hand to anything. He learnt from the best after all. He could only hope that when this was all over it wasn't too late to return to his father.

* * *

Emma woke up at around 7am to a bright glare of sunlight streaming through the window. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she sat up in the covers and realised she wasn't in her own bed. The frown she wore gradually disappeared, as she remembered what happened last night. The date, the call-out, the make-out, going back to Killian's flat…

Emma knew she ought to be feeling terrified; she'd slept with a guy and hadn't made a quick getaway before daylight! But she didn't feel any of this. For once she was completely at peace.

The door on the other side of the room creaked open, and Killian popped his head round the door to see if she was awake. Seeing that she was sitting up, Killian opened the door fully and walked through with a plate of toast.

"Morning, Swan," he said, beaming at her.

Emma smiled back at him, allowing her eyes to trail shamelessly over his body. No one could blame her really, he was only wearing a pair of loose shorts round his hips, and his muscles were just so toned…

"Morning, Jones," she replied, moving along the bed so he could sit next to her. Thanking him for the toast he offered her, she hungrily bit into the warm bread and another comfortable silence fell between them as they both ate their breakfast. Emma was halfway through her second slice of toast when Killian spoke.

"Emma?" he said.

"Hmmm?"

"What happens next?" Killian asked almost nervously, turning his head to look at her.

Emma swallowed her mouthful of toast and thought for a minute. "Well, I guess we just continue doing… this. Going on dates and stuff."

"And stuff?" Killian repeated, raising an eyebrow at her so that she knew _exactly_ what he was talking about.

Emma smirked back at him and blushed slightly. Last night really was something. Returning to reality, Emma turned to look at the clock.

"It's after 7, I should probably go back to the loft, I need to get ready for work. Give me a ride?" the blonde said.

"Of course, I just quickly put a hoodie on and we'll go as soon as you have some clothes on," Killian replied, leaning in to give her a quick kiss. As he walked out of the room he turned around. "Though I do prefer it with your clothes on my bedroom floor," he added with a wink.

Emma shook her head at him and started getting ready once he had closed the door.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Emma had said goodbye to Killian at the station where he'd dropped her off so she could pick up her car. She was walking up the stairs to the loft when she heard someone at the top of the stairs.

"Damn keys, always manage to get to the bottom of my bag," Mary Margaret said, rummaging through her bag.

"Here, I've got mine," Emma offered from behind, making the school teacher jump.

"Emma, you scared me," Mary Margaret gasped, placing a hand on her heart above the neckline of her purple dress.

Emma unlocked the door and frowned. She turned around in the doorway and looked at her friend. "You're wearing the same clothes from last night," she stated, watching a deep red blush taint the woman's features.

Mary Margaret stuttered for a moment before a similar frown came over her own expression. "So are you," she retorted, staring at Emma's jumper.

A look of understanding passed between the two women. "You didn't come home last night!" they exclaimed at the same time.

They both giggled like teenagers. "Coffee?" Emma asked, indicating at the room behind her.

"Definitely," replied Mary Margaret, and they marched through the door and closed it behind them.

Once they had a shower and dressed, Emma made the coffee and they sat down at the kitchen counter.

"So," Mary Margaret began. "You and Killian?"

Emma couldn't help the giant beam that spread across her face, she was just so damn happy. That seemed to be all the confirmation Mary Margaret needed.

She clapped her hands together with excitement. "Oh, finally! You guys have been driving the whole town crazy!"

Emma giggled slightly. Had it really been that obvious that they had feelings for each other?

"What about you and David?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow.

Now it was Mary Margaret's turn to blush.

"I take it you guys had a good night then?" Emma pressed.

"Probably about as good of a night as you and Killian," the teacher retorted, arching a delicate brow.

Emma smiled and finished the rest of her coffee. "I'd better go, I need to get to work. I'll see you tonight, if you're not at the B'n'B."

"I think it's you that's more likely not to come home," Mary Margaret shouted after her.

Emma practically skipped towards her car once she was out of the building. Today was going to be a good day.

* * *

Last night was probably the best night of Killian's life. Every detail stuck out to him in the morning, like everything was heightened. Every touch, every kiss, every caress… he could remember everything. Including the dream that followed once he had drifted off. This dream was the most vivid yet, but Killian knew that this time it wasn't a dream…

 _Killian was on his way home from the naval academy when he saw his sister running towards him. She wasn't exactly difficult to miss as the shock of navy blue in amongst a sea of drab clothing danced in his direction. A smile spread across his face as he watched her bound towards him. Jacquelyn had never been happier than in the past two years while they had been in the naval academy, and it really showed. Her smile was brighter than ever, and she always had a skip in her step._

" _Killian, come on, could you walk any slower?" she called out when she was near enough._

 _The brother huffed slightly at his sister. "Why don't you try running after a full day of sword training with the admiral?" he retorted raising an eyebrow._

 _Jacquelyn giggled and linked her arm through Killian's. "You must be getting old, brother. Thinking of early retirement, are we?" she teased._

" _Well you would feel like early retirement had you remained at the academy for the full day," Killian pointed out, arching an eyebrow at the short, raven-haired girl._

 _Jacquelyn smirked as she looked straight forward._

" _Didn't think I would notice?" Killian guessed._

" _Actually I knew you would, what would impress me is if you knew why I had the afternoon off," Jacquelyn replied, returning the arched eyebrow._

 _Killian frowned at her. He had known Jacquelyn all her life, and yet she still seemed to surprise him. "Enlighten me."_

 _The girl beamed at him. "Come on, I'll show you," she said, tugging on Killian's arm as she dragged him into their house by the docks._

 _After she'd shut the door and made Killian sit down in the living room, she turned to face her brother and took a deep breath. "Okay," she began. "Before I show you, there are a few conditions you need to agree to. Firstly, you can't tell Liam."_

 _Killian rolled his eyes at that. Trust Jacquelyn to do something their brother would disapprove of. "What have you done Jay-Jay?" Killian asked with a sigh._

 _Ignoring him, Jacquelyn continued her list of demands. "Secondly, this was my decision and you do not have the right to lecture me about it. And while I appreciate that you will say you're just looking out for me, I'm a big girl now and I can take care of myself. And, it's really not that important anyway but it's important to me, I guess, so really that makes it important and…"_

" _JACK," Killian shouted, interrupting his sister to stop her from rambling. Softening his voice at her startled look, he smiled at her. "Just tell me. I promise I won't tell Liam unless it endangers your personal safety in any way or it really is incredibly stupid. And I will try to refrain from lecturing you."_

 _Jacquelyn smiled and once again took a deep breath. "Okay, are you ready?"_

 _She unbuttoned her naval jacket and shrugged it off, tossing it callously onto the table. Then she yanked up her white shirt at the side, showing Killian the side of her ribs that was no longer bare._

 _Killian frowned as he got up from his chair and walked over to his sister to inspect the new markings on her ribs. It was a tattoo – a fairly basic design but something that Killian knew had a lot of meaning. It was an anchor that started at the base of her hip and was being lifted away by three sparrows._

" _I know what you're thinking. 'Wow, Jack, that was rash and impulsive and…'"_

" _It's beautiful, Jack," Killian breathed, still stunned._

 _Jack blinked at him. "It is? I mean, yeah, it is," she said, smiling at her brother. She let her shirt fall and began tucking it back into her trousers. "I'd wanted to get something like this since we got into the navy. I thought about maybe something to do with our commissions, but I know I would never forget that day as long as I lived. But what I might forget is the struggle we went through to be where we are now. That what we went through was almost impossible to overcome, as impossible as three little sparrows lifting an anchor. And yet somehow we managed it," she said, a wistful smile playing on her lips._

 _Killian returned her smile. "Come here, sailor," he said, pulling his sister in for a hug. She sighed against his chest as she returned the embrace, however brief it may be._

" _Alright, Kil. I have a reputation to uphold," she muttered gruffly, pulling away from him._

" _Heaven forbid someone realises you're not made of stone, Jack," Killian pointed out, raising an eyebrow._

" _I'm the only woman in the Royal Navy, brother. I don't have that luxury," she said with a bittersweet smile._

 _Killian shrugged at her. "Don't worry, Jay-Jay, you'll show them all what you're made of someday…"_

Although he still couldn't remember her properly, Killian knew that Jacquelyn was his sister. And God, did he miss her! He was heartbroken when he woke up, until he saw the blonde-haired beauty lying next to him. Though he still felt the dull ache of Jack's absence, he had to focus on other things first – such as the fact that Gold was sitting in a cell at the moment. The sheriff would have to discuss this with Henry at some point soon though. Maybe the curse wasn't such a farfetched idea after all. Or maybe Emma had finally driven him nuts.

Killian met David outside of the station as they both pulled up in their respective cars. "Morning, Dave," Killian said cheerfully, getting out of the car and unlocking the door to the station.

"Hey, how did last night go?" David asked eagerly, following the sheriff into the building.

A small smile graced Killian's lips as he was reminded of last night, but quickly pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. "I'll tell you later, mate. Got some business to attend to first."

David was saved the bother of asking what Killian was talking about when they turned the corner into the office and saw Mr Gold sitting patiently on the bed of one of the cells. The deputy frowned slightly, wondering what on earth had happened, but Killian wore a smug smirk on his face, clearly amused by the situation.

"I trust your evening wasn't a comfortable one, Mr Gold," Killian stated, the smile never leaving his face. He crossed the room and leaned on the desk in front of the cell.

"Well I see your powers of observation are finely tuned, Sheriff. What a relief to Storybrooke that is," Gold replied maliciously. Killian didn't seem bothered by this though, he was enjoying it far too much. After savouring the moment a little bit longer, Killian pushed himself off the desk and walked around it the retrieve the statement from Mr French.

"Lucky for you, Gold, Mr French hasn't pressed charges, though I have no idea why," Killian announced.

"Thank you for your input, Sheriff," Gold sneered.

"Which means that as long as you can put up your bail money – and I'm sure you can – you are free to go," Killian told him.

"Then why don't you stop telling me things I already know and let me out of this damned cell," the older man growled.

The small lapse in Gold's control gave Killian great satisfaction and his smile grew even larger. "As you wish."

Killian fished the key for the cell out of his drawer and walked over to the cell, taking his sweet time about unlocking it. Gold glared at him all the while he was unlocking the door, and never took his eyes off Killian, even when he walked out of the cell. The pawnbroker retrieved his cane which was leaning against the wall and turned around the face the sheriff.

"I expect the money by no later than noon today, or I'm afraid I'll have to come and arrest you again, and we wouldn't want that now, would we?" Killian said innocently.

"Indeed not," Gold replied frostily, his knuckles turning white on his cane. Before he did something he would regret, Gold spun on his heel and walked out of the station.

"Have a nice day," Killian shouted after him, not even bothering to hide the amusement on his face.

Once the door closed, Killian chuckled to himself darkly. The sheriff turned round to face his deputy, who was looking completely stunned.

"Wanna tell me what the hell happened there?" David said, a smile of his own creeping up onto his features as he watched Killian almost giddy with the thrill of having one over Mr Gold.

"Have a seat, mate," Killian said, slipping into his own office chair and placing his feet on his desk.

David sat behind his desk and leaned forward on his elbows, indicating he was ready for whatever story Killian was about to tell.

"Basically, Emma and I had just finished watching the movie when we had a call out from a civilian who heard some shouting coming from one of the abandoned warehouses by the beach. We got there and Gold was beating the crap out of Moe French – "

"The florist?" David interrupted.

"The very same," Killian replied. "It was pretty bad, he was tied up and everything. Still don't know what Gold wanted with him, he was saying that something was Moe's fault. Emma thought she heard Gold saying something about a girl but he wouldn't tell us anything," Killian finished with a shrug. "Anyway, how was your night off?" Killian asked suggestively.

Now it was David's turn to smirk. "Yeah, we had a good night. I took Mary Margaret to that Italian place and then we went for a walk by the woods."

"And then?" Killian asked, raising an eyebrow.

David blushed slightly. "Let's just say I didn't take her home until this morning."

Killian raised his eyebrows in mild surprise. "David, I'm shocked. I thought you were a respectable gentlemen, not a seducer of women," he said sarcastically, causing David to roll his eyes. "Did you take her back to the B'n'B?"

"Well where else? I couldn't go back to the loft with her, Emma would have come back from the nightshift. And that would be an awkward moment that I really don't want to experience," David replied, cringing slightly.

"Actually mate, you could have went back to the loft last night because Emma didn't get back to the loft until this morning either," Killian said slyly, giving David a wink.

Now it was David's turn for his eyebrows to shoot into his hairline. "You're kidding! You guys…"

"Yep," Killian replied.

David gave a light laugh and shook his head slightly. "Wow, congrats, man. I can't believe you guys finally got together!" In any other circumstance, David might have felt a little… protective over Emma. She was one of his best friends after all. But he knew that Killian was serious about Emma, and trusted him completely.

"Yeah, well keep it to yourself for the meantime, alright? I'm not sure if Emma wants to make it a public thing, and we haven't told Henry that we're involved yet," Killian began.

"Relax, I won't tell anyone," David said, holding a hand up to stop Killian from rambling.

The sheriff smiled at his friend. "Thanks. Listen mate, I've been thinking."

"Well, that's a rare occurrence," David muttered sarcastically.

"Have you found a place to live yet? More permanent than Granny's Inn, I mean," Killian enquired, ignoring David's comment.

David grimaced slightly. "Not yet. There still isn't any vacancies in town."

"Actually there is one. I've been meaning to ask you for a while now; why don't you move in with me? It's pointless you being hauled up at the inn when I have a spare room at the flat," Killian pointed out.

For a moment, David was speechless. "But, that was Graham's room," he said after a moment.

Killian nodded solemnly. "Aye, it was. But he would have wanted me to move on, and I couldn't think of anyone more deserving of that room than you. There are a few conditions though," Killian replied, the beginnings of smirk taking over his face.

"Anything," David beamed.

"You're gonna have to tell me when you're bringing Mary Margaret back to the flat because I think that's a sight neither I nor Emma would really want to see."

David leaned back in his chair and laughed. "C'mon man, get your head out of the gutter."

"Believe me, David, I don't think he knows the meaning of that phrase," Emma said, catching the last part of their conversation as she walked in the station.

David and Killian exchanged a cheeky glance before Killian turned to watch Emma.

"Hey," he said, smiling softly at her as he leaned back in his chair. Emma walked over to him and bent down to plant a quick peck on his lips.

"Hey," she replied, smiling back at his shocked face. A quick glance over at David told her he was trying not to smile at them.

"Oh, that reminds me," David suddenly said. "Ruby owes me $20."

Emma frowned. "How does that remind you of your $20?"

"We had a bet on when you two would get together. I said Valentine's Night, and she said knowing your luck something would come up so you would have to postpone," David replied, grinning at the couple in front of him.

Emma and Killian gave each other a knowing glance and chuckled. Guess everyone else could see they were meant to be together before they did.

* * *

Regina was pacing in her office, waiting for Henry. The Mayor was starting to get a little anxious about her current situation now. With Snow White and Prince Charming in a public relationship – since Kathryn was completely useless in stopping them from being together – Regina could feel the curse wearing off and her grip over the town was loosening. Not to mention her grip over Henry. This was all _her_ fault. The blonde woman who had no business here, and yet she'd wormed her way back into Henry's life and won the hearts of the townspeople. Even when she'd stopped Henry from seeing her, Regina could still tell he idolised the woman more than he'd ever idolised her. Even when Emma made a complete fool out of herself thanks to the set-up with Sidney over the playhouse, the town had still sided with their beloved deputy. Even when she literally had Graham's heart in her hand and he had still chosen to go with Emma. It wasn't fair! This was supposed to be Regina's happy ending and Emma Swan was ruining it while getting her own happy ending at the same time.

The sound of the door opening and Henry walking into her office brought Regina out of her thoughts. Plastering a smile on her face, she decided to dwell on her problems later, and turned to face her son. "Henry," she said brightly.

The boy offered her a timid smile in response, which made Regina's heart twinge a little. She knew he was still angry at her for not allowing him to see Emma, but this was for his own good. Besides, he'd soon forget about that once Regina gave him his present.

"Come sit down. I have a surprise for you," she told Henry, beckoning him over to her silvery, velvet sofa. The twinkle in Henry's eyes at the mention of a surprise sparked up as all young children's do. _The way they're supposed to look when he sees me instead of her…_

She pulled out a box from under the couch and placed it on his lap. Henry looked at it cautiously before shifting his eyes to gaze at Regina.

"Oh, go on. Open it!" Regina sighed.

"What's the catch?" Henry asked, arching his eyebrow at her. He'd had picked up far too many habits from that damned pirate for Regina's liking.

"The occasion is I love you," she replied, smiling fondly at him.

Seeming to accept the answer, Henry pulled the ribbon off and took the lid off the box. He reached in and lifted out the games console that was sitting in the box, staring at it.

"Now, I know you miss your book, but with this you can do the heroics," Regina explained. "You can save the princesses, you can be the hero. Henry, you have to believe me. When I tore down the playground I did it for your safety. Please, don't be upset with me. I really didn't mean to destroy your book."

Henry's face had grown solemn as Regina explained herself, his legs swinging back and forth over the edge of the sofa. "It's not just the book," he muttered glumly.

Regina frowned. "Then what is it?" she asked.

"It's Emma – I want to see her."

That sentence made Regina see red and if Henry wasn't here she probably would have smashed something. Once again, Emma Swan was ruining her relationship with Henry. She wasn't even here and she was still whispering poison in Henry's ears, causing him to turn against Regina.

Regina took a deep breath to calm herself and smiled at Henry slightly. "Henry, you should run along to catch the bus or you'll be late for school. We'll talk more about this later."

Sensing that this wasn't a good time to argue, Henry put his new console in his bag and made a swift exit from Regina's office.

The Mayor stared at the coffee table in front of her, in deep thought. If anyone came in at this exact moment they might think that she was trying to melt the table with her laser eyes, but in reality she was planning something far more sinister. If the curse was weakening, then it was only a matter of time before the hatter was able to leave his house, if he wasn't able to already. So long as he had any sense, he would go after Emma to try and get her to break the curse, and he was unpredictable at the best of times. He should be able to take care of Miss Swan for her, and Regina wouldn't even have to get her hands dirty. It was the perfect situation.

* * *

It was finally 3 o'clock, and since it was Monday that meant Emma got to knock off early. Which was a good thing too, because after not getting much sleep last night, she was completely drained. Just as she was about to walk into Granny's for a much needed coffee, the mystery man dressed in leather walked out. Although she gave him a polite smile, Emma really hoped he would just ignore her. Sadly, today was not that day.

"I've been meaning to bump into you," he said as Emma walked past him, causing her to groan internally. The blonde turned round to face him. "Matter of fact, I was hoping we might grab that drink you promised," he continued.

Emma mentally berated herself for ever agreeing to go for a drink with him. She knew she should probably say no, but this would only come back to bite her in the ass in the long run if she postponed it.

"Here's the thing – I don't tend to go for a drink with guys who don't tell me their name. I find it weeds out the ones who like to keep secrets, like they're already married or store body parts in their freezer. It was nice talking to you," she said, walking back into the diner. She knew he would stop her, but at least she'd dragged a name out of him.

"It's August. August W. Booth," he told her.

"Really? The middle initial?" Emma scoffed.

"Stands for Wayne," he smirked.

Emma returned his smirk. She couldn't help it, for all he was annoying, she kinda liked this guy. There was something likeable and familiar about him.

He got on his motorcycle and gestured to the seat behind him. "Well, are you coming?"

Emma raised an eyebrow at him. "Why can't we just grab a drink here?"

"I know a good watering hole, and you come here every day. Hop on."

Emma eyebrows shot up. "You want me to get on the back of that thing?" she asked incredulously.

"That's what 'hop on' means," August retorted condescendingly.

"How about if we go anywhere I drive," Emma suggested, really not liking the idea of getting on the back of a motorcycle belonging to a guy who's name she only found out thirty seconds ago.

"How about you stop having to control everything and take a leap of faith?" he shot back. "You owe me a drink." He held out his spare helmet towards her.

Emma thought of Killian and how she shouldn't be scared anymore because she'd taken the biggest leap of faith possible and was so far unscathed. A few more risks couldn't hurt. Plus he was giving her a helmet so at least August seemed a little responsible. Knowing she would probably regret this later, Emma took the helmet off him and got on the back of the bike. She didn't notice the two pairs of eyes watching her from the Sheriff's station as she drove off with August.

* * *

After about twenty minutes of driving through Storybrooke, August parked his bike up next to the forest and walked further into the woods. _Great, this is where you get brutally murdered,_ Emma thought, suddenly very thankful she still had her gun on her. As she cautiously followed August into the forest, he began making small talk with her. Just the usual, how long had she been living in Storybrooke, what she thought of the place, if she liked her job. All the focus seemed to be on her though, he didn't tell Emma anything about himself and always subtly directed any questions back towards her. Not subtly enough that Emma didn't notice though.

Once their destination was in view, Emma laughed and raised an eyebrow at August.

"A watering hole? Literally?"

August smiled as he brought her over to the well. "Say what you want about me – I always tell the truth," he replied, smirking to himself at his inside joke.

"I thought a drink was like wine, or at least coffee," Emma prompted.

"You want me to get you drunk? I don't think your sheriff friend would appreciate that very much," August replied.

Emma had to refrain from rolling her eyes. It hardly surprised her that Killian had made it clear to August that he didn't like him. "That's not what I meant."

"I might get you coffee the next time," he replied, pulling up the bucket of water.

"I told you once before that I already had someone to buy me a drink, and you just mentioned that Killian 'wouldn't appreciate it'. Why do you think there's going to be a next time?" Emma asked. She wasn't trying to push his buttons or anything, she was just genuinely curious about it.

"Two friends can't get coffee together?" he asked innocently.

"So we're friends now?"

"I think we could be," August told her, showing her a real smile instead of the condescending smirks he usually gave her.

"Well, maybe we could," Emma conceded. She grabbed a cup and filled it with the water from the bucket, taking a sip of it.

"They say there's something special about this well. There's even a legend about it," August began, repeating Emma's actions as he filled his own cup. "They say that the water from the well is fed by an underground lake. A lake that has magical properties."

"Magic? You sound like Henry," replied Emma, smiling at the thought of her son. She leaned against the well and looked out to the forest, lost in thought. It felt like forever since she'd seen him.

August noticed the bittersweet smile on her lips. "He's a smart kid," he told her, bringing Emma back to reality. The blonde flashed him a smile which he returned before continuing with his story. "So, this legend. It says that if you drink the water from the well, something lost will be returned to you."

Emma frowned at him. "You sure know a lot about this town for being a stranger."

"And you know very little for being a Deputy," he retorted in his usual manner. His dark blue eyes were boring into her green ones as if he was desperately trying to communicate something but she wasn't getting it.

"How do you know all this? Have you been here before?" enquired Emma, suddenly becoming curious. Of course she didn't believe in the curse but Henry was right, there was never any strangers in Storybrooke. She'd lived here for months now and August was the only new face she'd seen. Even Mary Margaret, who'd lived here all her life, had never seen a stranger come to Storybrooke. It was… odd to say the least.

"I know this for one very simple reason," August said, suddenly becoming even more intense. Suddenly, he cracked a smile. "I read the plaque."

Emma frowned at him before he pointed to the writing next to her, detailing the legend of the lake.

Emma almost laughed at herself for being so silly. "You actually believe in that?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

August shrugged. "I'm a writer. I have to have an open mind."

"Yeah, but magic?"

"Water is a very powerful thing. Cultures as old as time have worshipped it. It flows throughout all lands, connecting the entire world. If anything had mystical properties – if anything had magic – well, I'd say it'd be water," August explained.

Emma looked at him sceptically. "That's asking a lot to believe on faith."

The biker sighed. "If you need evidence for everything, Emma, you're going to find yourself stuck in one place for a long time."

"Maybe," Emma agreed. "Or, maybe I'll just find the truth before anyone else."

"Well, Miss Sceptic, there's one thing I can tell you for sure that requires no leap of faith, and I know you'll agree with me," he said mysteriously.

"What's that?"

"It's good water." And with that they both chuckled and finished the rest of their water.

* * *

After August had dropped Emma off at Granny's, she finally checked her phone and found three missed calls from Killian and two from David. Frowning at her phone, she decided to check the station knowing they would still be there. As soon as she opened the door to the station, she could hear the two officers running towards her, a look of relief washing over their faces.

"Emma!" Killian exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. He practically sagged on top of her with the huge weight that was lifted off his shoulders.

"Um, hi," Emma said curiously returning the hug nevertheless. She shot a questioning glance to David over Killian's shoulder but he seemed to be reacting in the same way as Killian. Finally the sheriff let go off her, but placed his hands on her shoulders and inspected her.

"Are you hurt?" he asked her, his eyes sweeping over every inch of her.

"Killian, I'm fine. Does someone wanna tell me what's going on?" asked Emma. Seeming to accept her answer, Killian and David led Emma into the office where they could all sit down.

"Where have you been, we've been calling you for hours!" Killian asked, still mildly erratic.

"I've been gone for less than two hours, Killian," Emma replied, arching an eyebrow at him. "What has gotten into you?"

Sensing that an argument between the new couple was about to occur, David placed his hand on Killian's shoulder as a way of telling him to calm down. Taking the hint, David felt some of the tension leave the sheriff's shoulders.

"We were worried about you, Emma, that's all. The guy on the motorbike, he kinda sets the whole town on edge," David explained, leaning on the desk opposite Emma's.

"August?" Emma asked incredulously. "That's what this is about?"

Killian blinked. "His name is August?"

"Yeah. August W. Booth."

"Really? With the middle initial?" he frowned, temporarily forgetting how anxious he felt about the situation.

Emma shrugged. "It stands for Wayne. Anyway, so a guy pulls into town on a motorbike, is that a crime? He's not the only biker dude in town," Emma stated.

"But no one knows anything about him. You only found out his name today and he's been here for weeks," Killian replied, trying to make Emma see reason.

"Yeah, and no one knew anything about me when I came to town either," she shot back. The two officers exchanged a defeated look.

"Look," she said, tucking a stand of hair behind her ears. "August is a bit… mysterious, I'll give you that. He clearly doesn't like talking about his past. But you know who else was like that? Me. The only reason I came out of my shell was because I had people like you guys and Mary Margaret and Henry. I've never seen August talk to anyone but me and the occasional flirting with Ruby! And you know what, sue me, I like the guy. I guess I just see a little bit of myself in him."

Emma finally breathed once she'd finished her rant and looked up at Killian and David. The latter seemed to accept her little speech, but Killian was still pensive and not looking at Emma. Seeing that he was no longer needed, David made his excuses and left the station, leaving Emma and Killian alone.

Emma got up from her chair and walked round her desk to stand in front of Killian. "Hey," she said softly, placing a hand on his cheek. He lifted his sapphire eyes up to look at her.

"What's really going on here, Killian?" Emma asked.

The sheriff sighed and took the hand that was against his cheek to hold it. "You just got on the back of that bike with no hesitation. None whatsoever. I couldn't help it, Emma. Seeing you with someone else and looking so happy, it hurt. And I know I have no right to be jealous…"

Emma cut him off my placing a kiss on his lips. Killian's arms automatically wound round Emma's waist as their lips moved against each other. After a moment, once Emma was sure that Killian understood, they broke apart.

"You do have a right to be jealous, Killian. You just don't have any reason. What we have is something that I could never find with anyone else. I did hesitate when I was getting on the bike, but more because I was wary of August that anything else. But I figured since I've already pushed myself to my limits with you, a bike ride can't hurt," Emma told him, a smile playing on her lips as he hands hung behind Killian's neck. "The reason I looked so happy was because I am happy. I'm happy with you."

All the while she was speaking, Killian was getting lost in her. Her eyes, her words, her touches. He mentally berated himself for even thinking that he should be jealous; he knew how Emma really felt. He pressed his forehead against Emma's as though he could transmit his thoughts without actually saying them.

"I'm happy with you, too, Swan," Killian whispered.

Emma smirked at him. "Good. Because I'm not going anywhere for a long time, Jones."

* * *

After saying a long goodbye to Killian, Emma walked out of the station to her yellow bug. Just as she unlocked the door, a flash of red out of her peripheral vision caught her eye. There in the gutter was the box that Henry kept his book in. Hoping against hope, Emma bent down to open the box and found that the book was in there, still intact. A grin spread over Emma's face as she thought about the look on Henry's face when he saw that she'd found his book. Not being able to stay away from her son anymore, Emma made a stop by the school on her way home to see if she could catch Henry.

Sure enough, he was sitting on a bench outside of the gates looking at… was that a video game. Parking her car up, she all but ran to the bench to see him.

As she sat down next to him, he barely even noticed she was there.

"Wow, I love that game. Space Paranoids, right?" she said.

"Yeah, my mom got it for me," Henry replied, without looking at her. Something in Emma's head clicked. Henry was a special kid but he was still a kid, and kids got distracted by video games. It would be the only reason Regina would buy this for him considering she was kind of a strict parent to say the least.

"I used to play that all the time when I was a kid," Emma said, watching over Henry's shoulders. "Relax, it's all in the wrists."

"My mom's gonna be here in like five minutes," Henry warned.

"Alright, I'll be quick then," Emma replied, reminded of the permanent barrier between Henry and herself. "I just wanted to give you something."

She took the book out of her bag and placed it in front of him. The second he saw it Henry's eyes lit up and his video game lay next him, completely forgotten.

"You found it!" he exclaimed excitedly. Emma was right, the smile on his face was priceless. "Where did you get it?"

"I found it in the gutter. It must have fallen off the dump truck on its way to the junkyard, got tossed around in the rain and somehow made its way back to me," Emma guessed, frowning slightly.

Henry didn't seem very convinced. "Wow, that's crazy."

"What other explanation could there be?"

Henry thought for a minute. "I don't know," he admitted.

"Well, whatever happened, it came back to me," Emma responded, smiling at Henry.

"Maybe, it means our luck is changing. Operation Cobra is back on! Things are going to be better," Henry said brightly.

Emma had never been so happy to hear the words 'Operation Cobra' – it meant that Henry had his spirit back.

"I hope you're right, kid," Emma said, pulling her son in for a hug. She broke away all too soon, aware that Regina was picking Henry up any minute now. "I got to go," she told him, and picked her bag up to jog back to her car.


	22. Chapter 21: We're All Mad Here

**Hey guys, guess who's back, back again! Yeah I'm bad at updates, you know this by now, BUT, this chapter is worth it. I really hope I've done this justice because the shit is gonna hit the fan with this. Anyway, I would like to dedicate this chapter to best friend in the whole world who Jynx is actually based off because this is her favourite episode in this season. I hope I've done it justice for her because she will kill me if I haven't since she's been pestering me to write this chapter for months now. I hope you guys enjoy because our story is really picking up now. Thank you guys for sticking with me, y'all are the best! ~WG**

* * *

Chapter 21: We're All Mad Here

It had been two weeks since Valentine's Day and a lot had happened in the lives of the townspeople of Storybrooke. David had moved in to Killian's house, Emma and Killian were now finally 'official', even Kathryn Nolan had a new interest in her love life that came in the form of the gym teacher at the local school. Things were the best they had been in a long time for everyone. Well, everyone except Regina. It made her sick to her stomach to witness everyone so happy, especially Miss Swan and her pirate. However, Regina knew what was coming. It was only a matter of time before Jefferson managed to drag Emma back to his mansion. All she had to do was wait. In the meantime, Regina had to let Emma believe that she had the upper hand. She was even allowing Henry to sneak out and see her. Something tightened in Regina's chest at that thought. The little boy that she had loved and raised now betraying her to chase after a woman he had known for all of six months. The Mayor held back her tears, clenching her fists. Emma Swan would soon get what was coming to her…

* * *

Emma woke to the sensation of kisses being peppered onto her shoulder. She smiled softly and turned over, catching Killian's lips with her own and curling her fingers through his dark hair.

"Morning, Swan," Killian said against her lips.

Emma drew back and gazed into his sea blue eyes. "Good morning."

Killian lay back on the bed and Emma scooted over, laying her head on his broad chest. They lay there for a couple more minutes, just basking in each other's company and thinking about what was to occur later on that day. They were telling Henry about their relationship today, and while they both knew he would be happy for them, Emma couldn't help but wonder _what if…_

"Swan?" Killian said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Stop worrying about it," the sheriff replied, reading her mind. "Henry will probably be more excited about this than we are."

Emma smiled softly, knowing that it was true. She could just picture the smile that would spread across his face once they told him. "Yeah, I guess you're right," Emma sighed. Then, she tilted her head up to Killian's and gave him a quick peck. "I said we'd meet Henry at the beach at 10 so we'd have a couple of hours together before I start my shift. Breakfast?"

Killian beamed at the mention of food. "Oh, Swan, you do know how to charm a man."

"Shut up," Emma replied, rolling her eyes at him playfully. The blonde got out of bed, shrugged on one of Killian's blue shirts that was far too big for her and made her way into the kitchen knowing Killian would follow her. And he did, he would follow her anywhere, especially when she was wearing one of _his_ shirts.

After their bacon sandwiches and a quick shower, they jumped into Emma's bug and drove do the spot where the castle used to be. Sure enough, Henry was there with two large blankets in his arms and a flask of hot chocolate.

"Hey, kid," Emma said as she and Killian walked over to Henry.

The boy beamed at the two of them. "Hey, guys. You never said Killian was coming, too."

"My day off, thought I'd spend it with my two favourite people. You don't mind, do you?" Killian said, ruffling Henry's hair as the boy wrapped his arms around Killian's middle.

"Are you kidding? This is great!" he exclaimed.

Killian grinned and returned the hug, oblivious as to how the sight of her two boys warmed Emma's heart.

"C'mon, kid, let's get these blankets down on the beach, I'm freezing!" Emma said, wrapping an arm around Henry as she and Killian led him down to the beach.

Once they were settled with their mugs of hot chocolate and the extra blanket wrapped around them, they snuggled down with Henry in between the two adults.

"So, how are things with Operation Cobra, lad? Emma told me she'd found your book," Killian asked.

Henry's eyes lit up as he began talking. "I think we're making some progress. I've been rereading my book and trying to match people up to their Enchanted Forest lives and I think I've made a couple more connections."

"Really, like what?" Emma asked, taking a sip of her cinnamon hot chocolate.

"Remember that guy you guys were telling me about who always makes noise complaints during the day? I figured he must be Sleepy, because he sleeps a lot."

Emma and Killian exchanged an amused glance. "I guess that makes sense," Emma nodded. "Anyone else?"

"Well, I told you guys about Kathryn Nolan and how she was Abigail because she was David's wife. Have you seen the guy she's been hanging round with recently?"

"The gym teacher?" Killian supplied, arching an eyebrow at Henry.

"Yup. He's Fredrick, her True Love," Henry replied nonchalantly.

"I thought he was turned to gold?" Emma asked, confused.

"No, love, Prince Charming got the water from that lake and turned him back, remember?" Killian told her.

Emma pushed down the urge to roll her eyes for Henry's sake. "Okay, so that's two more people you've figured out, don't you think there's still a long way to go?" Emma asked.

Henry shook his head. "I think the curse is gonna be broken soon. I don't know how soon, because I know that you don't quite believe it just yet, but people are finding their True Loves, and that's got to have some effect. I mean, there's Kathryn and the gym teacher, David and Mary Margaret, you guys…"

Killian almost choked on his hot chocolate and Emma's eyes went wide. "What are you talking about, Henry?" Killian asked.

Henry arched an eyebrow at both of them, something he was doing quite often now that he was spending even more time with Killian. "I'm ten, I'm not blind," he said simply.

Emma and Killian looked at each other and smirked. Henry was one perceptive kid.

"And you're okay with this, kid?" Emma asked, waiting for Henry's reply with anticipation.

"Are you kidding me? I'm more than okay with this!" Henry exclaimed, a smile splitting his face in half. "I mean, you're my mom and Killian's the closest thing I've ever had to a dad, this is perfect," Henry said.

The boy wrapped his arms around Emma which she happily returned. She glanced over Henry's shoulder to look at Killian and saw an expression of disbelief mixed with… something else.

Emma sent him a poignant look. _You okay?_

In return, Killian simply smiled, looking truly happy. _I'm more than okay, love._

Emma returned his smile as Henry let go of her. He then settled back into the middle and Killian placed an arm round his shoulders, and they simply stared out at the ocean. They stayed like that for the rest of the hour, watching the sun glisten on the sea, talking about hot chocolate and ice cream, and finding shapes in the clouds. Just basking on one another's presence and completely at peace.

* * *

Once Emma had left her two boys to go to work, Killian and Henry headed over to the docks to get some fish and chips. It was sort of a tradition they had when Henry was younger and Killian was babysitting him; neither of them could stand to be in the house so if the weather was permitting Killian would take them down to the docks for some food and to look at the boats. The pair walked along the pier, picking at their chips as they went before they found a free bench to sit on.

"So, Henry, I have a confession to make," Killian began, shifting his gaze to the boy sitting next to him. Henry looked up at him questioningly as he chewed on a chip. Killian sighed. "I didn't drag you out here just to get some fish and chips. I need to talk to you about Operation Cobra."

Henry's eyes could have been put on a Christmas tree with how much they lit up. "Really?" he exclaimed.

Killian bit back a chuckle. "Aye, lad. Remember a while ago, I told you about these strange dreams I was having about a young girl?"

Henry nodded.

"Well, I know who she is. Her name is Jacquelyn Jones," Killian continued, a lump forming in his throat. Now that he remembered Jacquelyn, it was becoming increasingly difficult to talk about her.

"Jones?" Henry asked, picking up on the familiar name.

Killian blinked hard, trying not to let a tear escape. "My sister," the sheriff clarified. "I remember her, Henry. Right now she's the only thing I do remember about my previous past, but I know that she was real." Henry watched as Killian took a deep breath and stared out to the ocean past the boats in the dock. "I'm starting to think that this curse must be real because I miss her, lad. And I know that she's not here in Storybrooke."

Henry watched his father-figure struggle with the grief he felt for his missing sister, and he knew in that moment that it was never more important to break the curse. "We'll just have to find her then," Henry said with conviction.

Killian looked over at Henry and met his hazel eyes with his own blue ones. The sheer determination on the boy's face made Killian chuckle. "You know, you remind me of her, Henry. She was willing to do anything for the people she cared about, and God help anyone who stood in her way. You would have liked her."

"You say that like you're never gonna see her again."

"Well, I'm not," Killian replied grimly.

"How do you know? Once we break the curse we could go looking for her," Henry replied.

"Henry, I'm not even sure we can break the curse, much less how to break the curse," Killian replied, slumping in his seat.

Henry took in the slant of Killian's shoulders and recognised that he felt totally defeated in all of this. Henry stood up in front of the sheriff and waited until he looked up at him.

"The curse will be broken, we just have to get Emma to believe. And I know that it's not gonna be easy, but now that you and my mom are together, I think it'll be broken a lot sooner than you think. And now you have a reason for it to be broken. So, are you gonna sit there and mope about Jacquelyn, or are you gonna do something about it?"

Killian arched a brow at Henry. Just when had this young lad become so much like Killian himself?

"Well, that's my arse kicked into gear," the sheriff said with a smirk. He rose to his feet, wrapping an arm around Henry's shoulders. He took Henry's empty carton of fish and chips and placed them in the bin along with his own. "Come on, lad. I think it's time we thought of a plan. Tell me, does your book feature anything about sailors?"

* * *

Emma walked into the station with a spring in her step and two coffees in her hand. Things with Henry couldn't have gone better than they had this morning, and it filled Emma with a warm feeling of contentment as she left her boys to their own devices. _Her boys._ The thought didn't jar Emma as it once had done. Six months ago the only thing Emma would dare to call her own was her yellow bug.

She turned the corner into the office and saw her fellow deputy filing some paperwork.

"I have no idea how you manage to keep up with your paperwork with only decaf coffee to keep you going," Emma said by way of a greeting.

David looked up and smiled at her. "Not all of us run on caffeine, Emma." He took the coffee cup off her gratefully and took a loud gulp before eyeing her suspiciously. "You look happy," he said after a brief moment.

Emma crossed the room and sat down in her chair, swinging it slightly with her feet. "I am. Killian and I told Henry about us this morning and he was really happy about it," she replied, smiling at the new memory of Henry's face. Emma felt her face fall as she realised how few memories she actually had with Henry; she'd barely seen him over the past few weeks with Regina keeping them both on lockdown. David must have noticed her change in expression.

"I sense that there's a but coming," he stated, leaning against his desk with his arms folded across his chest.

"I miss Henry," she replied easily. It kind of surprised her that she could talk to David so honestly. She only really knew him because of Mary Margaret and Killian so they never spent much time on their own together. "I miss him, and I'm worried about him. No matter how happy he claims to be, he's getting sucked into this curse fantasy more and more and it's only gonna get worse as long as he's with Regina," she continued.

"Then why don't you get custody of him?" David said with a shrug.

Emma arched an eyebrow at him. "Believe me, I'm trying. Ever since the exposé went south I'm reluctant to bring any evidence against Regina."

"Maybe it's time you hired a lawyer."

"The only lawyer in town is Spencer who I wouldn't trust as far as I could throw or Mr Gold, who I trust even less. Besides, I already owe Gold one favour," Emma replied, her face going sour.

David sighed and walked over to Emma's desk. "All I'm saying is that it's an option you should maybe look into." He patted Emma's hand with his own and gave her an encouraging smile before he sat down at the desk opposite her.

After a couple of hours of paperwork with the occasional conversation being struck up between the two of them, their companionable silence was interrupted by the phone ringing. Emma reached across her desk to pick it up.

"Sheriff station, Deputy Swan speaking," she responded automatically.

"Hi, I was wondering if someone could help me. I – I was walking my dog in the woods and he ran off with his lead," a frantic male voice on the end of the line blurted out. "Please, it's getting dark soon and he's never been out in the woods on his own before."

"Hey, it's okay, we'll help you look for him," Emma said in a placating manner. "What's your name?"

"Jefferson."

"Okay, Jefferson, one of us will head into the woods now and help you look for your dog, we'll be there in ten minutes."

"Thank you, please hurry," Jefferson replied before hanging up.

Emma placed the phone back down. "Do you wanna take this one?" she asked David.

The other deputy shook his head. "No, I'm almost done with this paperwork, I'd rather just get this bulk finished today, you can take this one."

Emma nodded before standing up and fetching her jacket. "I don't know how long I'll be but I'll probably see you at Mary Margaret's tonight anyway, she's cooking dinner for the four of us."

David waved her off, his eyes never moving from his paperwork. "Sounds good, I'll see you then."

* * *

If Emma didn't know any better, she would have said the fog that had descended across the town was caused by magic - she could barely see the road in front of her. All things considered, she should have probably been driving a little more cautiously. As she sat hunched over in her seat trying to get a better view of the road, she was concentrating so much that she didn't see the lone figure walking along the road far too close to her car. She slammed on the brakes and swerved to avoid him as he dived out of the way down a small incline.

Once Emma came to a stop, panting heavily, she threw the car door open and jumped out, running towards the man.

"I'm so sorry!" Emma cried, scrambling to help him up. "Are you okay? I didn't see you there."

The man accepted her help and stood up, leaning on her slightly. "Uh, I think so," he replied, his voice sounding vaguely familiar.

The first thing Emma notice about this man was his frame; he was tall, maybe about an inch taller than Killian, with broad, hulking shoulders. As he stood, Emma noticed his eyes were an interesting pale blue colour, though not as striking as Killian's bright sea coloured eyes. And he wore the oddest clothes, this kind of bronze patterned suit with an old-fashioned neckerchief.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine," he reassured her. "I'm not used to sharing the road with cars so late. You're the deputy I spoke with on the phone, aren't you?"

Emma winced slightly; not really a good impression to be making as an officer of the law. "Yeah, that's me."

"Jefferson," he said, extending his hand.

Emma smiled at him and shook it. "Guessing you still haven't found your dog yet, huh?"

A frown crossed his face as he shook his head and Emma almost flinched. He _seemed_ concerned, and yet behind his eyes it was just like there was nothing. Funny, he sounded pretty frantic on the phone.

"Well, don't worry, I'm sure we'll find him," Emma said, finding strength in her voice despite her slight unease.

She began to walk towards her car but as Jefferson fell into step with her she noticed his obvious limp which he tried, and failed, to conceal.

"Oh, you are hurt," Emma said, feeling more and more guilty with every passing second.

"I think I just twisted my ankle, I'll be fine. I just wanna find my dog," he said, his face pleading with her. Once again, Emma saw nothing behind his eyes, but then again it was pretty dark and he seemed genuine, after all, why would he have any reason to lie? Still, something in her gut was telling her to ditch this guy.

"Let me drive you home," Emma suggested. He began to protest. "If you come with me you'll only slow me down and then we'll never find your dog," she said, effectively cutting off any response he was about to give.

Jefferson paused to think about it for a moment before he sighed and gave in. "Alright," he conceded.

After Emma helped him into the passenger seat, she followed Jefferson's directions deeper into the woods, a little more cautious with her driving now. After about 10 minutes, she pulled up to a stop outside of his house. Well, it was more like a mansion really.

"This is your house? It looks more like a hotel!" Emma exclaimed. "You must have a huge family."

Jefferson got out of the car and shut his door. "No, it's just me," he replied solemnly.

Emma felt a pang of sympathy for him in that moment. If anything, she could understand that. It made her think just how grateful she was to have Henry and Killian, and Mary Margaret and everyone else in her life now. Emma watched Jefferson struggle up the stairs before going against her instincts and helping him.

Once they reached the top of the steps he turned to her and smiled. "Thank you," Jefferson smiled. "Can I offer you a cup of tea for being so kind? It'll keep you warm before you go back out into the cold."

That should have been the biggest warning sign. This man who had appeared so panicked on the phone about his missing dog was inviting her into his huge house that was deep in the woods with no one around and didn't seem bothered in the slightest that he was distracting her from her search for his dog. But none of that went through Emma's head because all she saw was a lonely man who was clearly in pain.

"Okay, just a quick one," she said, smiling as she stepped through the open door.

* * *

Killian pulled up to Henry's house in his car and cut out the engine. Regina still wasn't home but she would likely be back within the hour so Killian still had a bit more time with Henry.

"And you're sure there's nothing about sailors or the navy or anything like that in your book?" Killian asked, his eyes pleading.

Henry shook his head. "No, there's no mention of them. Although, I remember something being said about how the taverns beside the docks were often full of pirates."

As soon as Henry said the word _pirates_ an image of a silver hook flashed in front of Killian's eyes. The sheriff blinked the familiar image away, pushing it to the back of his mind. He didn't need Henry seeing him have a full on flashback in his car, no matter how much the shiny bit of metal intrigued him.

"Never mind, lad, we'll figure something out later," Killian sighed, ruffling Henry's hair.

"Agreed, I think we should work on the second part of Operation Cobra," Henry replied with a cheeky glint in his eyes.

Killian knew the boy too well to know that he should be worried about what was coming next. "Henry…"

"Getting my mom to believe in the curse is going to be impossible, so we're going to have to break it with something else, the only thing that can break any curse," Henry explained.

Killian raised an eyebrow at him. "And that would be?"

"True loves kiss, duh," the boy said with a roll of his eyes.

"You think Emma and I are true love?" Killian asked, his voice softening slightly. He wasn't sure he believed in true love if he was honest, and he knew that Emma definitely wouldn't believe in it, but if he had to pick someone to be his true love, Killian certainly would pick her.

"Yeah, of course you guys are. You have that look about you," Henry said confidently. Killian smiled at the boy whom he thought of as a son. Henry then leaned back in his seat and stared out at his house, a glaze coming over his eyes.

Killian picked up on his demeanour immediately. "What is it, lad?" he asked, shifting himself in his seat so that he was facing Henry.

Henry turned to look at Killian, his eyes glistening slightly with unshed tears. "Am I ever gonna live with my mom?" he whispered.

Killian practically heard his heart shatter in that moment, realising in that moment just how much Henry carried on his young shoulders. He reached out to pull Henry close to him. "Of course you will, Henry. We're just not sure when. Your mum hates being kept from you, but there's nothing we can do at the minute, lad," Killian explained, stroking the back of Henry's hair. "I promise you, we will find a way to bring you home with your mum. But in the meantime I need you to be strong and stay with Regina a little while longer. Can you do that for me?"

Henry pulled away and wiped the few tears that had escaped. "I think so," he said with a watery grin.

Killian beamed back at him. "That's my boy. Come on, you'd better get inside before Regina gets back."

Henry grabbed his backpack and opened the car door before he paused. He turned back and wrapped his arms around the sheriff.

"Thanks, Killian."

Killian smiled and returned Henry's hug. "Go on, before the Mayor comes and skins me alive."

Henry grinned at him as he got out the car and ran back into the house, Killian watching him until he was safely inside. His smiled dropped once Henry had closed the door. Of course Emma had talked to him about getting custody of Henry but there was never anything that they could do with Regina being his legal guardian, but after what Henry had just said, Killian knew that they would have to take action soon.

* * *

Emma woke up on the hard floor of a cold, dark room, her head pounding as her eyes adjusted to her surroundings. After a moment she realised where she was and the panic began to set in. This maniac had drugged her and thrown her in a random room in his house! She could be anywhere – this place was huge so she didn't have a clue whereabouts she was and even if she managed to get out of the house she wasn't sure if she could remember the way back through the woods. And that was if she could even find her car.

Emma soon began to realise she was about to have a full blown panic attack, she could feel her breathing becoming shallower and faster, so she tucked her knees to her chest and closed her eyes. _Come on, Emma, breathe! Just keep breathing,_ Killian's voice sounded in her mind. As her breathing began to slow, her rational thought process started to flow through her head.

She needed to plan how to get out of here. If she could get to a phone, she could contact Killian and tell him how to trace the call back to the house. Or even better, if she could get to her phone then she could activate her GPS for him to find her. First thing was first though, she needed to establish where in the house she was.

Once she was sure that her legs wouldn't buckle if she stood up, Emma walked over to the window and peered out of it. She grimaced. She wasn't on the top floor, but it was still too high to try and jump.

"Okay, Swan. Time to make a move," she whispered to herself. Slowly, she walked over to the door and opened it as quietly as possible, praying it wasn't one of those doors that creeks horrifically the slower you open it.

Emma peered out into the hallway and saw that it was empty. In the room on the opposite side of the hallway slightly further down she could see Jefferson, but luckily he had his back to her. She had no idea what he would want with her, but after seeing the pair of scissors he was holding, Emma figured that she didn't want to wait around to find out.

The sight of the silver blades sent her adrenaline into overdrive, her neurons firing off one after the other telling her body to just MOVE. As quickly and as quietly as she could, Emma crept out of the room, turning the opposite way to where Jefferson was. Her nerves were shot and though she was barely breathing, every inhale sounded like a jet engine taking off. The hallway seemed never-ending, but when Emma finally turned the corner the floorboard creaked.

The blonde deputy felt a hand of ice grip her heart. Emma wasn't stupid and she knew Jefferson wasn't either; he was listening for any sort of disturbance and there was no way he wouldn't have heard that. She didn't waste any time before she began sprinting the way she was going, hoping that her head start would give her a chance to get back to her car. Her muscles were aching, probably a side effect from the drug, but Emma continued to power through it, her only thought being to get out of this house and get back to Killian and Henry.

A white door on the side of the hallway burst open, Emma barely managing to slow her pace enough to stop herself tearing it off its hinges. A groan escaped her as she hit the floor after her collision, her rush of adrenaline interrupted. The disconcerting sound of a gun clicking made her whip her head upwards to see Jefferson standing over her with a… disappointed expression. Like she wasn't meeting his expectations or something. Suddenly he smiled a smile that seemed far too wide for his face.

"Well, I'm glad you're finally awake, Sleeping Beauty," he said calmly. He reached down and pulled her up by her elbow despite Emma trying to crawl away from him.

"I've already called for backup. They'll be here any second," Emma said as confidently as she could muster as Jefferson marched her back down the hallway.

"And how have you done that, may I ask? Telepathy? Because you certainly didn't use this," he replied casually, dangling her phone in front of Emma's face.

She scowled at him, as if that would make any difference. Apparently it only seemed to amuse him.

Jefferson shoved Emma into a very strange room and shut the door behind him.

The room had illuminated shelves that were built into the walls, and every shelf of the longest wall had the exact same top hat on it. In the centre of the room there was a large white table underneath a circular display of lamps, though Emma could only tell the table was white by the very corner of it as it was covered in… well, stuff. Every type of tool and fabric you could imagine was on this table, and whatever couldn't fit on the table went on another wall of illuminated shelves. A telescope stood in the corner of the room looking out of the open window, but Emma could tell by the angle of it that it was not being used for stargazing.

Emma found her voice once more. "I don't know what you think you're doing but I swear I will make you regret it."

Jefferson lowered his gun and stood facing her wearing a curious expression, his free hand coming up to his face to stroke his chin. "I know it's cliché to say this but I thought you'd be taller," he said, ignoring her threat.

Emma gaped slightly at him. _Seriously, what kind of drugs is this guy on?_

Jefferson seemed to notice her bewilderment. "I just mean that for someone who's supposed to break the Dark Curse and return everyone's happy endings, you don't really look like much. No offence," he explained with a shrug.

"What curse?" Emma asked timidly. Surely not this guy too…

Suddenly, Jefferson lost his nonchalant demeanour and took a striding step towards her so that he was almost touching her nose with his own. "The one that's keeping us all trapped. All except you."

Emma sighed internally. "Have you been reading Henry's book?" _Seriously?_

Jefferson paused and look genuinely confused. "Henry? The Queen's father?"

"Henry, the Mayor's adopted kid," Emma explained exasperatedly. This guy was clearly insane.

A look of understanding flickered across his face. "Oh Henry. Your Henry. And his book of stories; the ones you choose to ignore." Emma flinched slightly as he said Henry's name. She would not let this guy anywhere near her kid.

"Maybe if you knew what I know you wouldn't ignore them," he continued, his voice turning dark once again. Emma tried not to let it show how freaked out she was, which was really difficult given how close she was to him.

Deciding to steer the subject away from Henry, she spotted the telescope out of the corner of her eye. "Why have you been spying on me?" she asked boldly.

Jefferson sighed through his nose and walked around her. "Because for the last 28 years I've been stuck in this house. Day after day, always the same. Until one night, you and your little yellow bug roll into town, and the clock ticks, and things start to change."

Emma frowned as she remembered Henry being adamant the clock had started to work again because she had arrived.

"You see, I know what you refuse to believe, Emma," Jefferson continued. Emma looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate, still very aware of the gun he held in his hand. "You're special. You brought something precious to Storybrooke – magic," he said sincerely.

Without even thinking, Emma said the first thing that came into her head. "You're insane," she replied.

Instead of reacting badly to this, Jefferson simply completed his circle around the table to meet Emma round the other side. "Because I speak the truth?" he asked calmly.

"Because you're talking about magic," Emma responded. She felt like recently all she was doing was trying to convince the people around her that magic isn't real.

"I'm talking about what I've seen," the madman shot back. He arched an eyebrow at her, his pale blue eyes twinkling dangerously. "Perhaps you're the one that's mad."

Emma almost laughed at that. "Really?"

"What's crazier than seeing and not believing? Because that's exactly what you've been doing since the moment you got to our little hamlet." He was standing less than a foot in front of her again, but Emma refused to back away. "Open your eyes. Look around. Wake up. Isn't it about time?"

"What do you want?" Emma asked.

"I want you to get it to work," he replied, desperation straining his voice. Jefferson grabbed Emma by the shoulder and marched her over to the chair on their side of the table, before forcing her into it.

"You want me to get what to work?"

Jefferson bent down next to her so that his lips were just above Emma's ear, making her shudder. If Killian could see this right now she didn't even want to know what he would do to this guy.

"You're the only one who can do this," he whispered, his breath moving her hair against the top of her ear. He moved his head so that his chin was resting on the top of Emma's head. "You're going to get it to work," he repeated determinedly.

Emma closed her eyes for a second and prayed to whatever God was up there that Killian would realise something was wrong and he would come and find her.

* * *

Killian showed up at the loft at 7pm, perfectly on time and found that David was already there. "Alright, mate. I thought you would have went home first," the sheriff said, handing David the bottle of red wine he had brought.

David took it off him and smiled. "Mary Margaret asked me if I'd come over a little early and help her with the food."

Killian grimaced slightly. "Bloody hell, you sure we wouldn't be better off ordering a Chinese takeout?"

Mary Margaret's bell-like laugh echoed through the open plan loft. "Relax, Killian. He was supervised at all times," she replied, ignoring David's pout.

Killian's smile faded slightly as he looked round the room and didn't find what he was looking for. "Where's Emma? She should be finished her shift by now," Killian asked.

"Oh yeah, this guy called around 3pm, lost his dog in the woods and Emma said she'd take the call. She didn't know how long she was gonna be but she said she wouldn't be too late for dinner," David said, as he picked at the nibbles Mary Margaret had put on the table.

Killian nodded and sat down on the sofa as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He had no texts or missed calls of her, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong.

* * *

Jefferson placed a hat, identical to the other ones, on the table and pointed at it. "Make one like that," he commanded.

Emma's eyebrows shot up. "You want me to make a hat? You don't have enough?"

Jefferson rolled his eyes. "Well none of them work, do they? Or else you wouldn't be here. Now make a hat and get it to work."

Emma gingerly picked up one of the many pairs of scissors in front of her and examined the fabric with a confused expression. "I don't…"

"You can do it, you have magic," Jefferson said, almost encouragingly.

 _This guy is seriously nuts, who even needs this many hats…_

"The hats, the tea… you're psychotic behaviour," Emma stated, looking around the room and piecing the scraps of information together. "You think you're the mad hatter."

Jefferson shuffled uncomfortably in his chair. "I prefer Jefferson, if you don't mind."

Emma placed the scissors down on the table. "Okay, you've clearly glommed onto my kid Henry's thing. They're just stories. The Mad Hatter is in Alice in Wonderland – a book. A book I actually read," Emma implored.

"Stories. Stories? What's a story?" Jefferson asked, tilting his head like a dog might when they're confused. "When you were in high school, did you learn about the Civil War?"

"Yeah, of course," Emma responded, puzzled at the random question. She didn't really mind though, the more she got him to talk, the more time she bought herself.

"How? Did you read about it, perchance, in a book? How is that any less real than any other book?"

Emma resisted the urge to grab this guy by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. "History books are based on history," she said matter-of-factly.

"And storybooks are based on what? Imagination? Where does that come from? It has to come from somewhere," he shot back. Jefferson leaned back in his seat and sighed. "You know what the issue is with this world? Everyone wants some magical solution for their problem, and everyone refuses to believe in magic. Now, get it to work."

Emma had just about lost her patience. "Here's the thing, Jefferson – this is it. This is the real world," she said, gesturing to the room around her.

"A real world," he replied. Jefferson placed his hands on the table and leaned forward." How arrogant are you to think yours is the only one? There are infinite more. You have to open your mind. They touch one another, pressing up in a long line of lands. Each just as real as the last. All have their own rules. Some have magic, some don't. And some need magic. Like this one. And that's where you come in." He picked up a large pair of scissors and pointed them menacingly at Emma. "You are not leaving here, until you make my hat. Until you get it to work."

"And then what?" Emma asked as she began cutting the fabric, unsure of what this hat could possibly do. Then again, this guy believed in magic, who knows what he thought this hat could do.

Jefferson sighed wistfully. "Then I go home."

* * *

It was now 8:45pm and Killian still hadn't heard anything from Emma. They'd all tried ringing her and each time it had gone straight to voicemail. Emma never had her phone off and she always carried a portable charger with her so it would never run out of battery. Something was really not right about this, and Killian was growing more and more anxious with every step he took as he paced the floor.

"I can't take this anymore, something's not right," Killian said, reaching for his jacket next to the door.

"I agree, it's not like Emma to not call and say she was going to be late," Mary Margaret piped up, a small crease appearing between her eyebrows as it always did when she was worrying about something.

Killian shrugged his jacket on. "I'm going to the station to see if she might have come back."

"I'll come with you," David offered, also reaching for his own jacket.

"Mary Margaret, give us a call if she comes back," Killian said.

"Of course. Be careful, you two," she shouted after them as they walked through her front door into the hallway.

They took David's truck to the station and raced into the building as soon as they'd parked up. Emma's car was gone, but she might've left some indication that she'd been back.

"Emma!" Killian shouted as he burst through the doors. There was no answer, just an eerie silence throughout the station. The sheriff and deputy tore round the corner into the main office and found it exactly the way David had left it. Killian let out a groan of frustration and ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Looks like we'll have to go into the woods and see if we can find her there," David said, trying to calm Killian down as best as he could.

"No, we need a better idea of where she was going first, those woods are a lot bigger than you may think, mate," Killian said, frowning. Suddenly, a thought ran through his head. "Maybe we might be able to narrow the search down a bit," he said. The sheriff quickly turned the computer on and logged in.

"How do you plan on doing that?" David asked him, his arms folded over his chest.

"When Emma started working for us she showed us some of her bail bondsperson tricks in case we ever needed them. She set this sort of bug thing up on the phone so that it would automatically log any phone call we got giving the address of the phone that was used to call us. If we find the address of this guy who called her, maybe he can help us," Killian explained, frantically typing on the keyboard to find the call. After another minute of Killian rifling through the phone log and David scrutinising the screen over his shoulder, he found an unfamiliar address that called the station that afternoon. "Found it," Killian exclaimed, making a mental note of the address before shutting the computer down.

He got up and headed out of the station, David hot on his heels.

"You sure that's the right address?" David asked as he ignited the engine.

Killian nodded. "It's deep in the woods so it makes sense that his dog would run off around there, plus it's never come up on our system before and you said Emma didn't recognise the voice on the end of the line."

"Okay, then. Do you know where you're going because I'm still unfamiliar with these woods," David replied, speeding towards the main entrance to the woods.

"Don't worry, mate. I'll let you know where to go," Killian said, even though he wasn't one hundred per cent sure. He just knew that he had waited for Emma for so long and he wasn't about to lose her tonight.

* * *

Jefferson was resting his chin on a hat box, twitching every so often as he watched Emma struggle with the hat. Eventually she got so frustrated that she threw it down on the table and stood up.

"I can't make it work," she told him. "What you're asking me is impossible."

Jefferson banged his head on the box before he jumped up and grabbed the hat. "No! It has to be. If it's not, I'm never going home. I'll be cursed to live in this house forever."

"What is so cursed about your life? Look at this place. It's beautiful. It doesn't seem cursed to me," Emma replied.

"It's cursed because, like everyone else here, what I love has been ripped from me. Take a look," he said dejectedly, pointing over at the telescope by the window.

Emma walked over and peered through the telescope that was pointing straight at the animal shelter. She could see Jynx and a little girl about the same age as Henry with golden brown hair playing with a white rabbit.

"Her name is Grace," Jefferson explained, dragging Emma's attention back to him. He seemed like a completely different person now, like a broken shell of a man rather than a psychotic kidnapper. "Here, it's Paige. But it's Grace. My Grace. Do you have any idea what it's like to watch her day in and day out, happy, with a new family? With a new father?"

Emma frowned at his words; she thought he was talking about Jynx up until that point. "You think she's your daughter?"

"I don't think," Jefferson said suddenly, making Emma flinch. "I know. I remember." Jefferson made his way over to the table and sat on the corner of it. "She has no idea who I am. Our life together, where we come from. I do. That's my curse."

Emma's mind was racing at million miles an hour. This guy was more disturbed than she thought. To believe in magic and Henry's curse was one thing, but to be spying on a little girl because he thought she was his daughter was another thing entirely. Emma needed to get out of here, she needed to stall him.

"To remember," Emma replied in what she hoped was an understanding manner.

"What good is this house, these things, if I can't share them with her?"

"If you really think she's your daughter, why don't you reach out to her? Why don't you tell her?" Emma asked, taking a step towards him. If she could rely on his parental instinct since he was convinced this girl was his daughter, maybe she could get through to him.

 _Come on, Emma, think! You need a plan and fast._

"And destroy her reality?" Jefferson asked incredulously. "I'm trapped by knowledge. How cruel do you think I am? You think I'd inflict that awareness on my daughter? It's hard enough to live in a land where you don't belong. But knowing it, holding conflicting realities in your head… will drive you mad."

Emma smiled at him tentatively. "That's why you want me to make the hat work, isn't it? You just want to take Grace home – to your world."

"It's the one world where we can be together… Where she'll remember who I am," Jefferson shrugged. In another circumstance Emma might have felt sorry for him.

"I know what it's like to be separated from your kid," she said, hoping the empathy card might be a good play as she let a few crocodile tears escape. She walked back over to the telescope to look through it again

"Yeah, you do, don't you?" Jefferson said as he followed her.

"It can make you feel like you're losing your mind." Wrong thing to say.

"I'm not losing my mind. I'm not crazy. This is real," Jefferson retaliated.

Emma straightened up and looked at him. The only thing she could think of was to give him that small bit of hope that she might believe, and then maybe he would leave off a bit. "Maybe," she began. "Maybe, it is."

Jefferson looked at her. "You believe?"

"If what you say is true, then the woman that I live with is my mother. And I want to believe that more than anything in the world," Emma told him, which was true to a certain extent. "So, maybe you're right. Maybe, I need to open myself up more. Maybe, if I want magic, I have to start believing."

"So, you're… You're going to help me? You can get it to work?" Jefferson asked, hope seeping into his voice.

Emma smiled at him. "I can try."

As soon as Jefferson accepted her answer, he turned his back on her and Emma saw that as her golden opportunity. She picked the telescope up off its stand and with all her strength swung it like a baseball bat and battered him across the face with it. He dropped to the floor like a rag doll.

"Crazy son of a bitch," she panted. She picked his gun up and her phone up from his pocket and turned it on, sighing with relief when she saw it still had battery. She turned and walked out of the room, trying to find the stairs so she could get out of this place. Suddenly she heard someone thudding on the door.

"Hello? Sheriff's department here," a familiar voice shouted.

Emma knees almost buckled with the relief she felt when she heard Killian's voice. "Killian," she breathed, not knowing what to do with her voice. She took a deep breath and was getting ready to shout for him once more when a pair of hands grabbed her from behind, one of them going around her mouth, muffling her screams. The gun had flown out of her hands and was a good ten feet away from her, and the distance was growing as Jefferson pulled her back. She could still here Killian pounding on the door and if there was one thing she knew it was that she was gonna get out of this alive to see Killian one more time.

Emma bit down as hard as she could on Jefferson's hand, hard enough that she could taste blood in her mouth and screamed the first word that came into her head.

"KILLIAN!"

Not a second later, two things happened at once. Jefferson grabbed her ankles, pulling Emma to the floor and Killian kicked the door down as he burst through onto the bottom floor. Jefferson was now on top of Emma, reaching for the gun behind her even as Emma's hands pushed at his face and neck. As he tilted his head back, Emma noticed that his neckerchief was gone, revealing a thin, red scar that circled all the way around his neck.

Emma's eyes widened as she took in the scar, and Jefferson smiled when he realised she'd noticed it.

"Off with his head," he laughed, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"Hey!"

Jefferson looked up to see a fist slam into the side of his temple, the force of it knocking him off Emma completely. Emma breathed a sigh of relief and let her head flop back down so that it hit the floor. Out of the corner of her eye she saw David scramble past her, handcuffs at the ready to restrain Jefferson. A pair of sea blue eyes came into her vision as she saw Killian's worried face hovering over her.

"Emma, thank God. Are you hurt? What happened?" he asked frantically, his hand coming to cup the side of her face.

She placed her own hand atop of his. "Killian, I'm fine, I'm okay," she said, reassuring him.

Her words seemed to soothe Killian, and his breathing slowed to a more normal rate. "Can you walk?"

Emma nodded. Killian placed an arm round her waist to help her up and support her. She seemed so small and fragile in his arms.

"Thanks," she said timidly.

"Um guys, I think we better have a quick run up to the hospital. Looks like I knocked this guy out pretty good," David said, causing both of them to look at Jefferson draped over the deputy's broad shoulders.

Emma smirked at him. "That may have had something to do with me, too. I kind of clobbered him with a telescope a little earlier on," she replied.

Killian looked at her in amazement before he laughed at her softly. "That's our girl, Swan."

Five minutes later, David had thrown Jefferson in the back of his truck and was already on his way to the hospital while Killian and Emma were leaning against her yellow bug simply holding one another in their arms as Emma let out quiet sobs. With her adrenaline rush completely over, Emma had time to reflect on how close she had come to death, and the days exertions caught up with her.

Killian's hand came up to hold the back of her head as she cried tears onto his leather jacket. "Shhh, it's alright, love. You're safe now, I promise," Killian kept saying over and over again, and her crying began to fade away.

Emma pulled away slightly to look up into Killian's blue eyes and she rose up on her toes to plant a chaste kiss on his lips. She sighed and returned to his embrace, her head tilted so that she could hear his heartbeat. It was the most wonderful sound she could think of.

"Killian?"

"Hmmm?" he responded, the rumble in his chest vibrating again Emma's cheek.

"When I was in that house, there was a point when I really thought I was gonna die," she whispered, and Killian's arms tightened around her a little more. "And all I could think of was that I would never see you, or Henry, or Mary Margaret, or David again, and I would never get to tell you…"

Killian frowned as she trailed of, and caught her chin in his hand to guide her eyes up to his.

"Tell me what?" he asked.

Emma looked deep into his eyes and he was sure that she could see straight into his soul. "That I love you, Killian. I'm completely and irreversibly in love with you. I don't think I realised it until I was in there with that psycho, maybe I just thought the prospect of being in love was just too scary and dangerous. But nothing could be as scary and dangerous as tonight," she said, tears shining in her forest green eyes.

Killian took in everything she said and felt every word resonate within him, like a giant church bell in his chest. He brought his hands up to hold either side of her face. "I love you more than anything, Emma Swan. And I think I have from the moment I saw you behind those bars when we first met," he told her, watching her smirk at the memory.

"No more playing around, Killian," she said, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "From now on we aren't gonna hide our feelings anymore. Oh, and we're going to get Henry back. I don't care what it takes, we're getting custody of our son."

And with that Emma buried her head back into the leather of his jacket and let Killian hold her as he rest his chin on her head. He was so happy he thought his heart would burst. He knew tonight he would have more memories return to him, something like this was sure to cause some disturbance to the curse, but for now he just basked in the moment of Emma in his arms and in his heart.


	23. Chapter 22: Proactive Interference

**Hey guys! I'm not sure if any of you remember if you've been here since the beginning or if you read the AN at the beginning of a chapter, but I first started writing this story two years ago, usually when I was procrastinating over my GCSEs. Well, now I'm doing my A Levels so the procrastination queen is back and better than ever. This chapter is kind of short and kind of a filler but I had a lot of fun writing it because it's all original material and we're nearing the end of season 1, FINALLY! Hope you all enjoy! P.S. as a side note, I'm studying psychology as one of my A Levels and we study memory as part of course. The name of the chapter is proactive interference which is a concept of forgetting one memory by an older memory that is similar to the newer memory interfering with it, something which i thought was pretty fitting for this chapter (so technically I am revising... sort of). ~WG**

* * *

Chapter 22: Proactive Interference

Killian woke up to find Emma's head buried into his chest with her arm sprawled over the top of him, just as she had fallen asleep last night.

" _I love you…"_

It was the same words, but they were ringing in Killian's head with the voices of two different women. One voice was giddy from the after effects of adrenaline and the realisation that she did in fact love him, the other was a mere whispered confession from a woman on death's door. He knew he would remember something else last night after Emma's confession, but he wasn't expecting the memory he got. Killian couldn't stop thinking of the moment the light went out of Milah's eyes when the Crocodile crushed her heart. It was infuriating him, so much that he woke up at the crack of dawn and slipped out of Emma's apartment without anyone knowing. He left a note on Emma's pillow saying he'd gone to grab some breakfast, knowing that she would be so exhausted she wouldn't wake up until much later. He needed to clear his head.

Not only was he in agony over reliving Milah's death, his left hand felt like it was burning from his finger tips to his wrist, where the pain seemed to stop all of a sudden. He couldn't work it out. The pain stayed with Killian until he reached the beach, where it slowly began to fizzle out to just a dull ache that was tolerable. He sat down on the sand, unbothered about the state his jeans would be in when he stood up. Tears pinpricked behind his eyelids, but he held them back because he knew that if he started then the anguish he felt wouldn't allow him to stop.

The worst thing about it was it was still just a fragment of a memory. As much as he tried to visualise the Crocodile's face (he knew that was the name he gave the monster that killed his beloved) all that came was a blurred but still cruel smile. Not knowing the whole story was beginning to drive Killian mad. In fact, that was pretty much the Sheriff's life at the minute – not knowing the full story. Maybe that's what he needed to figure out. And who better to ask about an unfinished story than a writer?

August woke up to the sun poking through the cheap polyester curtains and the sound of a fist pounding on his door. He lifted his head slightly and frowned, perplexed at who could possibly be on the other side. Realising the knocking wasn't going to stop, August rolled out of bed and grabbed a shirt, shrugging it on as he walked over to the door.

"Yeah, I'm here," he said groggily as he pulled the door open, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

Killian Jones was the last person he expected to see on the other side. Taking advantage of August's surprise, the sheriff pushed past him into his room.

"Well, good morning to you, too. Please come on in," August said sardonically. The second he shut the door, Killian grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and pinned him against the wall.

"Hey, hey, what, are you arresting me? I haven't done anything! Not that I'm aware of anyway…"

"Enough games, Booth!" Killian spat. Even though the sheriff was slightly shorter than August, he could be very intimidating when he wanted to be, and right now seemed like one of those times. "I want to know what you know," he continued, visibly seething.

"You know, we could be here all day unless you wanna be a little more specific," August said with a small smirk.

Killian shoved him against the wall with enough force that he rattled the chest of drawers that were a good two metres away from them.

August winced. "Guess now isn't a good time for sarcasm, huh?"

Killian ignored him. "You don't add up, Booth. Everything about you is a mystery. Emma is the first person to show up in Storybrooke in years and then less than six months later you arrive, too? That can't be a coincident."

The writer raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're a believer in fate now, sheriff."

"You've been here for weeks and yet you don't really seem to know anyone, nor do you seem to be making an effort to get to know anyone even though you show no signs of leaving anytime soon. No one except Emma and Henry."

August nodded in understanding. "So this is a protective warning," he said.

"Partly," Killian replied, causing August to frown. Killian let go of August's shirt and took a step back, never taking his gaze off the man standing opposite him. "I told you; I want to know what you know."

August raised his eyebrows slightly. "Know about what?" the younger man asked, dreading the answer Killian was about to give.

"The curse."

August tensed up at those two words. "What curse?" he replied, though he could tell there wasn't enough strength behind his voice to carry the lie off.

"Don't play dumb, Booth. We both know what I'm talking about. You've been drip-feeding Henry information about the curse. Think he wouldn't notice a new story in his book, which was conveniently found after you took Emma to that well?"

A muscle in August's jaw twitched, and Killian recognised it as a sign of nervousness. "Who else knows that I know about it?"

Killian's eyes widened. "You mean you're admitting to it…"

"Who else knows?" August said, cutting Killian off. His nervousness had now evolved into some kind of panic.

"Henry suspects," Killian began warily, gaging his reaction. "I only began putting the pieces of the puzzle together about an hour ago. As far as I'm aware, nobody else knows."

August let out a sigh of relief and nodded. He walked over to the chest of drawers and pulled out a half empty bottle of whiskey from the top drawer. He took a large swig of it before holding the bottle out to Killian.

"You're alright, mate, I've got to be getting back to Emma soon anyway."

August put the bottle down on the drawers and placed his hands on his hips as he turned to face the sheriff. "Yeah, why are you up so early anyway? Decided to be extra ominous and appear at my door at the crack of dawn?" August responded, rolling his eyes.

The spark of light vanishing from Milah's eyes flashed up behind Killian's eyelids just then and Killian turned away from August. "It doesn't matter," he whispered and he headed towards the door. He paused as he opened it and turned his head slightly. "Come by the station at 6pm, we'll discuss this later." And with that he walked through the door, ending up with more questions than when he went in.

August watched the door as Killian closed it, lost in his own thoughts. This may work to his advantage; if the sheriff knew about the curse, then he was possibly the key to getting Emma to believe. But then again, if he knew about the curse then it meant he was remembering his old life, and while Killian Jones seemed like a nice enough guy, August had no idea who he was back in the Enchanted Forest. Figuring he would just have to take his chances, he took another swig of his whiskey before climbing back into bed for another hour or two.

* * *

After his chat with August, it was almost 7:30 and Granny had opened the diner. Kilian did say on his note that he was getting Emma some breakfast, so he stopped by and ordered some pancakes to go. He raced back to the loft and was greeted with smell of fresh coffee as he walked in the door. Mary Margaret looked up from the counter and smiled at him.

"Ah, just in time. Coffee?" she offered, holding the pot of the black liquid up.

"Mary Margaret you are a saint," Killian replied, kissing her on the cheek as he placed the pancakes on three plates. "I'm assuming David is already at the station, because if he's not I'll kick his arse for being late."

"He left just over 15 minutes ago, sheriff," she replied mockingly. Mary Margaret handed him his coffee which Killian gratefully gulped at.

"She awake yet?" Killian asked.

Mary Margaret's smile dropped slightly. "Yeah, she's awake. She came down quickly to tell me that she was gonna jump in the shower, but she didn't say much else."

Killian nodded. "I wasn't expecting her to, love. You know what her walls are like, last night shook her up quite a bit."

"I'm not surprised," the teacher replied, crossing her arms over her pale blue cardigan. "I don't know what I would have done if that was me. But I guess that's just Emma – she's a fighter."

Killian smirked. "That she is."

He winked at Mary Margaret and put his coffee cup on the counter before going up the stairs to check on Emma. He paused outside the bathroom door, listening to hear if the shower was on. When he didn't hear anything he knocked on the door softly.

"Swan?"

Almost immediately the door opened and Emma was suddenly in front of him with wet hair and a white bath robe wrapped round her.

Killian blinked at her. "Bloody hell, that was a quicker response than I was expecting."

"I've been thinking," Emma said bluntly as they walked back over to the bed as Emma dug some clothes out her wardrobe.

Killian sat down on the bed. "About?"

"Remember when we were talking about how things with Regina had been quiet recently, like the calm before the storm? What if last night was the storm?" Emma suggested as she shimmied into a pair of jeans. "I mean, we both know that she's capable of something like this; she tried to frame me for stealing Henry's files the day after I got here and she hasn't exactly grown to like me anymore than she did then. In fact, I'd say the opposite."

Killian leaned back and pondered her proposal. "It's plausible, I suppose."

Emma pulled a jumper over her head and raked a hand through her hair, something she always did when she was deep in thought.

"How are you feeling this morning, love?" Killian asked tentatively.

The blonde glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm pissed. I wanna know why that psychopath locked me up. But… other than that I'm okay," she replied reassuringly. "I guess whatever I was feeling I got out my system last night. Now I just want answers."

Killian nodded at her, accepting her answer. Emma had a pretty troubled past, he had no doubt she'd been in situations similar to if not worse than last night. "How can you be so sure that it was Regina?" he asked her.

Emma sat down on the bed and grabbed his hand. "I can't. But Killian, if this was Regina, and Jefferson confesses that Regina blackmailed him or paid him to kidnap me, then we have a case against her for custody of Henry," she said, a light of hope shining in her eyes.

Killian looked into those bright green eyes and felt an immense sense of guilt. Here he was grieving for a woman long dead, a woman he didn't even remember properly when Emma was right here in front of him. Killian had loved Milah, and he didn't know if when the curse was broken his feelings for her would grow stronger, but what he did know was that right now in this moment he loved Emma Swan more than anything else in the world or any other world, and he would be damned if they couldn't get their son back. Even if Killian could no longer be there after the curse, he would help Emma get Henry so she could at least have him when this was all over and done with.

"I'm taking the nightshift at the station tonight, I'll see if I can get a confession out of him," Killian said, taking Emma's hands and placing a kiss on each one. She blushed as he did so, making him smirk against the soft pale skin of her palms.

"Hey," he said, causing Emma to look up at him. "I love you."

Emma beamed at him. "I love you, too."

Killian leaned in and gave her a quick peck on her forehead. "Now come on, your pancakes will be getting cold."

* * *

"Can I get some ice for my head? I think my brain is still rattling inside my skull after you punched me," Jefferson said from his bed.

David rolled his eyes before he turned his chair round. "The doctors said you were fine when they discharged you this morning. You don't want ice, you just want attention," David grumbled.

"Uh, but I'm so bored here. Don't tell me you're not bored, too?" Jefferson exclaimed, twiddling his thumbs.

David ignored him and decided to try and focus on his paperwork. Killian would be here in a few hours, so he just had to hang on until then. A few minutes later, Jefferson started whistling an irritating tune that grated on David's eardrums with every note. He was getting more and more wound up like a toy about to spring and was just about to react when he heard the station door open and a head of light silvery hair walked in the room.

David heard Jefferson stop whistling and he just about sagged with relief.

"Jynx, thank God. You have no idea how good it is to see you," the deputy said, standing up to meet her.

Jynx reached up on her toes to give him a quick hug. "I missed you, too, big guy," she said, grinning like the Cheshire cat. Suddenly she saw a familiar pair of bright blue eyes over David's shoulder staring at her from behind the bars. Jynx's eyes went wide and she all but stopped breathing. Noticing her sudden discomfort, David let go and turned to face Jefferson with her.

Jefferson gestured to Jynx's head. "You changed your hair," he said matter-of-factly.

"Twice, actually, since the last time you saw me. Glad you noticed it this time though, although I doubt there's much danger of you walking into me right now," Jynx shot back sarcastically.

David frowned at the exchange between them. "Wait do you know this guy?" he demanded, his protective instinct rising up in him.

"Relax, Dad," Jynx said, rolling her eyes, to which David just sighed exasperatedly. "I bumped into him in the Rabbit Hole like last month."

"Quite literally," Jefferson pointed out.

"Hey, you walked into me, freak show," the fiery woman responded as she strode towards the cell.

David grabbed her by the arm, cutting her rage short as Jefferson just flashed her an amused smirk.

Jynx perched herself on top of David's desk and crossed her leather-clad arms over her chest. "What you in here for anyway? You don't seem like the drunk-and-disorderly type," she asked.

"Oh, I'm not. I drugged and kidnapped Emma in an attempt to restore magic to my hat so I could take my daughter Grace, who you know as Paige, back home to our world," he said, finishing off with a wide grin.

Jynx was at the front of the cell before David could even blink, her small fists clutching at Jefferson's shirt. "If you even so much as breathe within a three mile radius of Paige, I will end you, so help me God," she threatened. There was so much venom behind her words her voice was barely above a whisper. He simply just looked at her in response, no real expression on his face. Throwing him back into his cell, Jynx curled her lip in disgust.

She walked back over to David, knuckles white at her sides. "I need you to come and feed the dogs later, I have something on and Paige is…" Jynx trailed off, wary of saying anything about Paige with that psychopath around.

"I'll stop by around 5, Killian's taking over the shift then," David replied.

A malicious smile graced Jynx's face. "Well, good luck to this guy once Killian is left on his own with him." Jynx stalked past David and threw a middle finger up behind her at Jefferson, much to David's chagrin.

Jefferson slinked back over to his bunk, cracking his neck to the side as he did so. "She's sure got fire that one."

David smirked. "You had that one coming, Paige is like a little sister to Jynx, and she's not someone to get on the wrong side of. Believe me."

Jefferson nodded. "That's good. She'll keep Grace safe until the curse is broken. It's what I was checking for."

David marched over to the bars and glowered at Jefferson. "Alright, now it's my turn. You've already come after one of my friends. I'm not gonna let you anywhere near Jynx, you understand?"

Jefferson simply shrugged. "It's not as if I'm going anywhere anytime soon," he responded bluntly.

David ignored him and went back to his paper work but he couldn't help a similar smile to Jynx's spread across his face. He really wished he could be a fly on the wall when Killian took over his shift with this guy.

* * *

It was almost 5, and Killian had left Emma discussing sleeping arrangements with Mary Margaret if Henry came to stay with them. _No, Killian. Not if – when._

Killian walked through the door and was surprised to see David waiting for him, his arms crossed over his chest. "Alright, mate. How's our guest been?" Killian asked.

"Killian, listen to me," David said, holding a hand up to stop Killian from going any further. "This guy is a psychopath, and he's gonna be doing all sorts to press your buttons. He's been doing it to me all day and he hasn't even mentioned Emma – he's just really annoying," David grumbled, causing Killian to smirk. "Just don't kill him, okay? Storybrooke still needs its sheriff."

"Well, Dave. I had no idea you cared," Killian joked, making David simply roll his eyes. "Relax, mate. I'll be professional."

David held Killian's gaze for a little while longer before deciding that if Killian was gonna do something he wouldn't be persuaded otherwise anyway. He clapped Killian on the shoulder before walking out of the station to his car.

When Killian heard David driving away in his truck, his mask of indifference faded, and fury splashed upon his features like a wave. He stormed round the corner and fished the keys to the cell out his drawer before finally looking up at Jefferson. He was watching the sheriff with what seemed like utter disinterest and keen intent at the same time. Killian felt sick to his stomach with what he was about to do, but he put one foot in front of the other until he was in front of Jefferson's cell and turning the key to open the door.

Jefferson simply raised an eyebrow at him when he heard the lock click and Killian pulled the door open. "You coming to beat me up?" he asked nonchalantly.

"What would be the point of that? If I wanted to hurt you you'd already be dead," Killian replied darkly.

Jefferson smiled at that. "You really haven't changed, have you? Or maybe you have, and you're just remembering your old self now. Being in a relationship with the saviour must give you a few perks."

Killian was interested in what he had to say but still scowled at him. "Get out of that cell and sit down."

Jefferson sighed before hauling himself up off his bed. "Aye, aye, Captain," he muttered as he walked past him. The words made Killian's stomach turn into knots. Jefferson slumped down at David's desk and placed his feet up, preparing himself for any questions.

Once Killian had settled himself at his own desk he found himself questioning why he was even bothering with this madman. "Do you remember everything about your old life?"

"I never forgot it," Jefferson replied with a shrug. "That was my curse. Regina knew how much pain I was in knowingly being separated from my Grace, it would have been a blessing to forget her."

Killian stared at the man opposite him. He had the strange niggling feeling in the back of his mind that he'd seen this man before.

Jefferson put his legs down and placed his elbows on the desk, leaning in. "How do I know that you really believe in this curse? Emma, she pretended to believe; right before she hit me with my telescope," he stated.

"You'll just have to take my word for it," Killian snapped.

"Sorry, no can do. I'm gonna need some proof."

Killian leaned in, too. "You're not in a position to be asking for anything."

"And you're not in a position to be turning down the answers to the questions that keep going round and round in your head."

Killian stared at him, knowing that he wouldn't back down. "How will you know if the memory I tell you will be real?"

"Back in our world, we knew each other," Jefferson said simply. Killian arched a brow at that.

"Well, not really our world," Jefferson continued. "Wonderland. The Queen of Hearts decided to keep us together since we were both sent by Regina to kill her. I was there for years before you got there, trying to make a new hat to take me back home to my Grace. By the time you got there, I was already mad. You didn't trust me at first, but eventually you were running out of options and needed someone to talk to, just to pass the time with. Or else you'd turn out like me."

"You're saying I trusted you with my memories?" Killian asked incredulously.

Jefferson laughed. "Oh, God no. You just thought I wouldn't be able to remember the things you told me. And even if I did, if I ever repeated anything you told me you could just pass it off as the ramblings of the Mad Hatter," he replied bitterly.

Killian thought about it for a while, wondering which memory he could use. A generic one would do, though he only really had specifics.

"I have a sister, called Jacquelyn. She's not here in Storybrooke, and I don't remember why we split up or where she is, but I remember her."

Jefferson smiled. "Huh, so you went with Jay-Jay. I thought you would have gone with Milah, you tended to speak more about her though Jacquelyn did come up in the odd conversation."

"I proved that I'm telling the truth," Killian said, ignoring his purposeful provocation.

"That you have. What would you like to know?" Jefferson asked, tilting his head slightly.

"How to break the curse."

Jefferson sighed. "You can't break it. The only person who can is Emma. And first you need to get her to believe. Which is…"

"Pretty much impossible? Yeah, I know," came August's voice as he turned round the corner.

"Jefferson, August," Killian said by quick way of introduction.

The two nodded at each other. "I think I have a way of making her believe," August said.

"I'm sure we just agreed that that was pretty much impossible," Jefferson pointed out.

"But not completely," August continued. "What if I show her how our stories are intertwined? Take her right back to the beginning where she first came into this world, through the wardrobe."

"And let me guess, it has to be you since you're the only one who can leave Storybrooke?" Killian pointed out sceptically.

"That's why I'm telling you now, so you don't think I'm abducting your girlfriend."

"Yes, well, some warning of that would be bloody appreciated," Killian shot at Jefferson.

"How was I supposed to know you were remembering? And you would never have let me do it anyway," Jefferson defended.

"Too bloody right I wouldn't! She was traumatised and it didn't even work!"

"Have I missed something?" August butted in.

Killian let out an exasperated sigh. "It doesn't matter. What matters is Emma won't be going anywhere tomorrow – she has other things on her mind."

"Henry," Jefferson said, causing the other two men to look at him curiously. "She mentioned him last night," he explained.

"Well you might be able to make amends with that. Emma is convinced Regina had something to do with it. I need you to confess that Regina blackmailed you or paid you or whatever. That way we build a case against Regina, Henry gets handed over to our custody, and Emma's mind is free of worry to go riding off into the sunset with mystery man over here," Killian said.

"Done. I'll give you an official confession with David in the morning. I don't owe Regina anything," Jefferson replied.

"Then it's settled. I'll catch Emma at some point tomorrow and take her to the spot where she came through," August summarised, and began walking back to the door. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to get an early night, since someone woke me up at the crack of dawn this morning."

Killian rolled his eyes as he heard August slam the door shut.

Jefferson got up from his chair and trudged back to his cell, flopping down on his bed. Killian followed him with the key, ready to lock him in. He still wasn't a fan of Jefferson after what he did to Emma, but he knew he wasn't a bad guy.

"Hey, just out of curiosity," Jefferson said, halting Killian in his tracks. "How's your hand?"

Killian frowned. "It hurts now and again, usually when I get a new memory. Do you know what happened to it?"

Jefferson nodded. "It's not my place to tell you. But I will tell you this: the curse didn't change your name. Not really. You were born Killian Jones. But honestly, at the time the curse was cast, Killian Jones was completely different to the man you had become. So hang on to who you are in this world, because since you've been reminded of the man you once were it may be hard to return to the man I knew." And with that Jefferson turned on his side to face the wall to signify he was done talking.

Killian paced back to his desk, unnerved by Jefferson's ominous warning. He didn't really know what he meant by that, but whatever it was, Killian was sure he would find out soon.


	24. Chapter 23: Things in Motion

**Hey guys! So exams have been over for about a month now so I figured I owed you guys a chapter. I've been just chilling a lot recently so that's why its so late, exams really took it out of me. Anyway, things start to heat up in this chapter so I hope you enjoy it! ~WG**

* * *

Chapter 23: Things in Motion

"Can you state your name for the record, please," David instructed.

"Jefferson L. Carroll," the Hatter replied, with a smirk in Killian's direction. David didn't seem to notice their little inside joke.

"Okay, Jefferson, tell us in your own words what the events were leading up to the kidnapping of Miss Swan."

"About a week before, I got a call from Regina – Mayor Mills, that is – and she said she needed me to do something and she'd pay me handsomely for it. That big mansion I live in, the bills aren't exactly cheap, and I needed the money. She had me giving my word that I would do whatever she wanted before I even knew what she was going to ask of me…"

Killian noted the odd phrase down here and there throughout Jefferson's story, but he already knew what he was going to say; they rehearsed the story last night.

"And just one more time, mate, who was it that blackmailed you into doing this?" Killian asked innocently.

"Mayor Regina Mills, sheriff," the prisoner replied.

"And did she happen to mention a motive?"

Jefferson leaned back in his seat, folding his arms across his chest. "She wanted Emma out of the way because she didn't want anyone to threaten her relationship with Henry, if you can call it that. She noticed that Emma had been getting closer to him and didn't want the worry of a custody battle on her hands."

Killian gave him a small smile and pressed the stop button on the recording device. "Well, I think that'll be all for now, Mr Carroll. We will return you to your cell until we find documentation of this so-called contract. In the meantime, David I think you'd best draw up a warrant for Mayor Mills' arrest."

David gave a brief nod and made his way out of the interview room leaving Killian alone with Jefferson. The two men smirked at each other.

"Really?" Killian said after a while.

"What?" Jefferson asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"L. Carroll?"

Both men let out a small laugh at that.

* * *

Killian left David to print off the warrant as he made his way out of the station and into his car. He'd told David he was going to check on Emma and tell her about the confession, but in reality he was heading to the Mayor's house. When he got within two blocks of the house he parked his car and decided to walk the rest of the way – nothing would sprout gossip like a police car parked outside of the Mayor's house.

There was nothing suspicious about Killian walking up to the front door, he had done so many times when he was looking after Henry and any witness would simply think he was going to pay Henry a visit. Which he was. Sort of.

Killian knocked on the door 4 times in a special rhythm so that Henry knew it was him at the door. The boy opened up the white door and beamed at the man in front of him.

"Hey, Killian, aren't you supposed to be at work now?" Henry asked, his eyes squinting slightly due to the sun as he looked up to Killian.

"Yes lad, I'm on duty, and I need to warn you about something," the sheriff began.

Henry perked up immediately, sensing the serious tone.

"Remember when you asked me when you were going to go and live with your Mum? Well it might be sooner than you think," Killian said cautiously.

Henry's eyes bugged out of his head. "Really?!" he cried.

"Shhh," Killian said, putting his finger to his lips and looking around. Henry winced sheepishly. "It's only a possibility but if everything goes according to plan then it should work."

Henry sensed something was up because of how much Killian was hesitating, he usually just got straight to the point. "Is said plan gonna get us in trouble?" Henry asked.

A muscle in Killian's cheek jumped. "Only if we get caught. We both know the best way to get you away from the Evil Queen is to break the curse, but do that we need to make Emma believe. With everything that's happened, your mum has been a bit shaken up and she's been putting all her energy into building a case against Regina so that we can get custody of you, meaning that she hasn't had any time to focus on believing in the curse."

Henry nodded to let Killian know he was following.

"The man who kidnapped your mum, it's a long story but he's not a bad guy, in fact I think you'd quite like him. I know it seems ridiculous because of what he did, believe me Henry, but do you think I'd be talking to him after what he did without good reason?" Killian continued, imploring Henry to understand.

Henry wrinkled his nose. "I don't like what he did to Emma, but if you trust him then I trust him, too."

Killian smiled. "He's going to help us get custody of you by giving us a confession saying that Regina blackmailed him to kidnap Emma." He paused gaging Henry's reaction.

Henry screwed up his face even more. "Did she? Because if she did then I understand that she deserves to be punished, but if she didn't then won't she go to jail for something she hasn't done? I know she's not a nice person but if we do this aren't we just as bad as she is?"

Killian placed his hands on Henry's shoulders. "You're a good lad, Henry. I know this is difficult for you. But I won't let it go that far with Regina. We don't have any hard evidence besides Jefferson's confession that Regina blackmailed him so we won't be able to keep her in custody, but the confession itself will go on her record and with that we'll have enough to go to a lawyer and get custody of you. If that's what you want," Killian added.

Henry threw his arms around Killian's neck and a moment later Killian was lifting him off the ground as he returned the hug. "I want that more than anything," Henry replied. "There's only one thing," he continued as Killian put him back down. "The only decent lawyer in town is Mr Gold, and my mom already owes him a favour."

Killian smirked. "Believe it or not, August has a plan for that, though he won't tell me what it is."

"August?" Henry repeated incredulously. "Now you're trusting _him_? I thought you hated him?"

Killian shrugged. "He proved that he was on our side. Can't ask for much more than that. Now, we're going to come for Regina when she gets home so don't be alarmed when you see us, David will take you to Mary Margaret's while I take Regina to the station. Got it?"

Henry nodded vigorously. Killian smirked and patted his shoulder. "Good lad. I'll see you tonight."

Henry closed the door and Killian made his way back to the car.

* * *

After grabbing a bite to eat for David, Killian grabbed Jefferson's written confession and told David he was going to see Gold about the custody battle. If anyone could win a custody battle, it would be him. Killian walked along the street to the corner where August was waiting for him.

"Jones," he nodded.

"Booth. So what's this plan you have for persuading Gold to do this for us?"

"Easy, I'm gonna tell him what I know," he said, walking off without him.

Killian just stood and blinked for a moment before hurrying to catch up with August.

"Are you mad?" he asked him venomously.

"Hmm, no, that's Jefferson," August replied effortlessly.

Killian grabbed his shoulder and spun him round. "What good will that accomplish?"

August picked Killian's hand off his shoulder as though it was an autumn leaf that had fallen on him. "Relax, sheriff. I said everything that I know, not everything that you know."

"Look, I don't think you understand, mate. You shouldn't underestimate Gold, he's a tricky bastard, and besides, he might not even know about the curse…"

"Oh, he knows alright. I won't tell you too much because I don't know what kind of past you've had with him and I don't want to trigger anything but the Gold back in the Enchanted Forest created this whole curse. And it was all for one purpose: to travel between realms. The only thing keeping him in Storybrooke is the curse itself, meaning he'll probably want it broken more than anyone. And as for his memories, you can bet everything you own that Gold already has his back."

Killian looked at him dubiously. "What are you going to tell him?" he asked as they paused outside the shop.

August gave a malicious half-smile. "Only what he wants to hear."

With that, August entered the shop. The little bell above the door chimed in the silence of the shop, and Gold skulked in a moment later. His face twisted almost unnoticeably when his eyes landed on Killian. "What can I do for you, sheriff?" he asked. "Not being arrested again, am I?"

Killian swallowed down the uncontrollable rage he felt whenever he saw Gold. There was just something about him…

"No, Gold, you're not. But if there is anything that you need to bring to my attention I would have no objection to taking you back into custody…" Killian stopped short as August elbowed him in warning. With a roll of his eyes, Killian continued. "However, I need you for a consultation, if you will, on behalf of Deputy Swan."

Gold arched an eyebrow in question. Killian stepped forward and handed him Jefferson's confession, watching lines appear in the older man's face as he skimmed through.

"And you've given me this because…?"

"You're the only skilled lawyer in town. Emma's going to need you on her side when the custody battle for Henry starts."

Gold smirked and handed the paper back to Killian. "And what makes you think I would take this case, sheriff? Regina is not a person to make an enemy out of…"

"Neither are you," Killian shot back with a raise of his eyebrow.

"You couldn't afford me even if I said yes," Gold replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Oh, I think you'll take the case," August said, drawing the attention towards himself. Gold gave him a sour look as the youngest man leant on one of the glass cabinets.

"And why is that, Mr…?"

"Booth," August replied, moving forward to shake his hand. "August W. Booth. And I just didn't think you would want to witness a parent being separated from their child… again."

August stared at Gold waiting for his reaction. All that happened was Gold went a shade or two paler.

"I don't think I quite understand what you mean?" he said in a warning tone.

"Don't you?" August said with fake surprise. He picked up an old trinket on a chain and dangled it from his fingers as he examined it. "Huh," he said. "I would have thought that abandoning your son to travel alone through a portal would be pretty hard to forget. I mean, that is the reason you invented this curse, wasn't it?"

It was a good job Killian was standing between them because Gold lunged for August the second he'd finished speaking. Killian threw the pawnbroker against the counter and held a warning hand out to him. "We're not here for a fight, Gold." He shot a look at August as if to remind him of that as well.

"Who are you?" Gold asked August, his voice trembling with fury.

"I'm surprised you don't recognise me. Have I really changed that much?" August asked innocently.

The fury melted away from Gold's face like wax next to a flame. He took a few tentative steps towards August. "Bae?" he asked, his voice now trembling with a different emotion.

An image of a boy with ringlets of brown hair and chocolate eyes flashed in front of Killian, who blinked the image away. The sheriff had no idea what was happening right now.

August looked full of remorse for a second, and then he burst into laughter as Killian looked on in confusion. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist that," August said in between his laughter.

Gold face contorted with anger once more and he lifted his cane above his head ready to strike August. Killian plucked the cane out of his hand from behind him and Gold stumbled into August who caught him. Gathering his composure he stood up and fixed his suit.

"Get out of my shop, both of you," he growled.

"But you haven't agreed to help Emma yet," August said with a shrug.

"You think this was the way to go about getting my help?" Gold spat.

"No, this was a way to get your attention. The way to get you to help is by making a deal."

Killian looked at him in shock. This was not going the way he had imagined.

Gold smirked. "Do you know who I am, boy?"

"I never forgot," August said with a hint of venom in his voice. "But I have something that you want – a way to find your son."

Gold hesitated for a moment before saying, "I don't believe you."

August just shrugged. "Believe it or not, but it's the truth. And even if it wasn't, you need this curse broken anyway in order to look for him. Emma is in no hurry to be breaking any curses while her son is still living with the woman who is trying to get rid of her."

Gold just stared at August. "Tell me more about how you're going to find my son."

"I met him a few years ago, told him I knew who he was and asked him to help me with something. I told him that when the curse was broken I would send him a postcard. We just have to be able to track said postcard and hey presto, we find your son. I will even lead you to him myself."

Gold stood still as a statue before turning his attention to Killian. "You've been awfully quiet, sheriff," he pointed out.

Killian, for once, was lost for words. Gold had a son? Was it that boy with the brown hair? And somehow August knew all this?

"Killian's memories haven't fully returned to him yet. Just bits and pieces. I imagine he's probably a bit confused since I didn't tell him any of this previously," August explained.

Gold never took his eyes off Killian the whole time August was speaking and Killian stared right back at him. "Yes, I'd guessed he hadn't got all of his memories back yet, or he wouldn't be showing the restrain he is now. Though you must really detest me, for a reason unknown to you," he said, directing the last part to the sheriff with a malicious smile.

Killian found his voice again. "I doubt it was without cause."

"It won't have been," August told him, sliding past Gold towards the exit of the shop with Killian following him. Before he opened the door her turned back to face Gold. "I suggest you get to work with this custody battle. The sooner Emma has Henry, the sooner we can break the curse."

They were about to walk out of the shop when August felt Gold's cane hook round his arm.

"Booth, if you're lying to me about my son, just know that when the curse breaks I'll have my magic back. And if I can track my son across realms, I can track you across this Earth," he threatened.

August moved the cane off his arm, similarly to how he'd removed Killian's hand from his shoulder previously, and the two men walked out of the shop without a backwards glance.

* * *

"What the bloody hell was that?" Killian demanded once they were out of the shop.

"Hey, calm down, alright. He's going to help us, that's all that matters," August replied, rolling his eyes.

"That was so bloody stupid, Booth. Now he knows that we know about the curse, which leaves me completely blindsided! Apparently back in the other world we hated each other and while this doesn't surprise me, he knows why and I don't. What if he goes to Regina about this?"

August stopped and turned to face Killian. "He won't, okay? Believe me, he's not going to let his son slip through his fingers a second time."

Killian frowned at that. "How did you know about Gold's son? It sounds like he's been looking for him long before the curse came. Who is he?" he asked curiously.

August's mouth twitched slightly. "Like I said, I met him once and he helped me with something. There's not much magic in this land but whatever small amount there is, the people from magic realms are always drawn to it, so it's hardly surprising we bumped into each other. It's not important how I met him, all that matters is that I'll be able to find him when the curse is broken."

August looked like he wasn't telling Killian the whole story, but the sheriff let it slide for now. Whatever it was he was sure it would come out eventually. Killian felt a vibration in his pocket and took his phone out to see that David was ringing him.

"David," he greeted him.

"I finished the warrant, we can go and get Regina at any time now," his deputy replied.

Killian felt the corner of his mouth pull up in his signature half smile. "Thanks, Dave. I'll go and tell Emma, keep me updated."

"Will do."

Killian hung up the phone and turned to August. "I'll talk to Emma about tomorrow. Are you sure that this is going to work, Booth?"

August laughed at him. "Nope, I think it will be a miracle if it works. But we don't have another choice, it's the only thing I can think of."

Killian grimaced at this. The odds really weren't good. A few more minutes of walking in silence, contemplating about what tomorrow was going to be like, and they had reached Granny's.

"I'll be in touch, Booth," Killian said, offering his hand out to August.

The younger man shook it and nodded at him. Without another word the sheriff turned and walked into the diner, his eyes honing in on the beautiful blonde in one of the booths. Immediately a smile graced Killian's face, his automatic response to whenever he saw Emma. She beamed back up at him as he came closer.

"Hey," she said, as Killian swooped down to peck her on the cheek before he slid into the booth opposite her. "I got you some coffee."

Killian sighed into his coffee cup as he drank the molten liquid, feeling it warm his insides as it slipped down his throat.

"Was that August I saw you with outside?" she asked, her voice coated in surprise.

Killian nodded at her. "He'd heard what happened to you and wanted to check you were okay, but he didn't want to call in to the apartment in case you weren't up for visitors."

Emma rolled her eyes at that. "How many times do I have to say that I'm fine before people start believing me?"

"I'd say that depends on the person. I think you'll probably have to tell Mary Margaret several times a day for the next 4 years before she lets it go."

Emma chuckled at that and took another sip of her coffee.

Killian watched her for a few seconds and took a deep breath. "So, after I told August you were fine and that you'd took some time to process everything he offered to take you out tomorrow, as a sort of distraction."

Emma's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "And you just didn't say anything to that?"

Killian shrugged in what he thought was a nonchalant way. "The guy's growing on me, I know he wouldn't hurt you," he said honestly. "And I know I don't have anything to worry about, you're crazy for me," he added before taking another sip of coffee.

"Careful, sheriff. You won't be able to fit your head back through that door if you keep inflating your own ego like that," Emma retorted raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, but you didn't deny it," Killian said, smirking.

Emma rolled her eyes before frowning. "I dunno, tomorrow just seems like an inconvenient time. I wanna focus on Henry right now."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, love," Killian replied giving her a genuine smile. He lowered his voice slightly and leaned in towards Emma. "Our Mad Hatter gave us a confession this morning saying that Regina had blackmailed him into kidnapping you. Said her motive was to get you out of the way in case of a custody battle."

Emma scoffed. "I knew that bitch was capable of something like this. Still, even though she is confirmed to be the most manipulative woman I've ever met, you think this will help us in the custody battle?"

Killian nodded at her. "I've already spoken to Gold, he wants to take the case, free of charge."

Emma's frown deepened at this. "Killian, what did you do?"

"Nothing," Killian answered honestly. "Actually, August helped persuade him. Don't ask me how because I have no idea, he knew you wanted Henry back and he just wanted to help. Which leaves you completely free tomorrow," Killian said, arching a brow.

Emma frowned at him. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were palming me off to August."

Killian kept a straight face. "Like I said, I think he just wants to help. And if taking you out tomorrow is going to take your mind off everything, I think it's a good idea. We have the Regina situation under control. Speaking of," Killian said, checking his watch, "we should be arresting her in just over an hour."

"What about Henry? He'll be traumatised if you go charging in and arresting Regina," Emma said immediately, reaching for Killian's hand across the table.

"Already warned him," Killian assured her, stroking the backs of her hands with his thumb. Emma gave him a soft smile which he returned. "David's gonna take Henry to your place when I take Regina back to the station, and hopefully by the time I'm forced to let her go because we have no hard evidence Gold will already have presented our case to a judge and give you full custody of Henry."

Emma looked like she was about to cry. Killian had never seen a smile on her face so bright. "This is really happening, isn't it?"

"I told you we'd get him back, Swan," Killian replied, touching her cheek with the back of his hand.

Emma nodded at him. "I'm gonna go back to the loft and blow up that spare mattress for him. Do you think he'd like some tacos tonight? Maybe we could go and rent a movie for him, or should I wait until he gets here so he can pick the movie himself…?"

"Swan," Killian laughed. "Just go and get started on the mattress and stop worrying about everything else. When I told Henry what was going to happen he was thrilled, once I assured him we wouldn't be able to press charges on Regina that is. He's going to be happy whether you make tacos or not, Swan."

Emma smirked at him sheepishly. "I'll see you later, Jones," she said, sliding out of her booth to kiss him.

"I'll be round later tonight," he said after she pulled away.

Emma gave him one last smile before she made her way out of Granny's, her blonde curls bouncing around her shoulders as she walked.

Killian let out a sigh. He really hoped this was going to work.

* * *

David spun round in his chair to regard Jefferson on the other side of the bars. He didn't think he would ever get used to Jefferson whistling his annoying tune, but it didn't grate on him as much as it used to. Jefferson paused his tune to give David a wide smile, which the deputy returned sarcastically.

"I have a question for you," Jefferson said suddenly.

David shrugged as an invitation for him to ask him.

"Why does Jynx hate dogs so much?"

David raised his eyebrows. That was not what he'd been expecting at all. "You're potentially looking at 10 years in jail, and you're wanting to know why Jynx is scared of dogs? How did you even know Jynx is scared of dogs?"

"Oh, I used to spy on her with the big telescope in my house that Emma hit me on the back of the head with," he said nonchalantly, ignoring David's obvious discomfort. "Nothing creepy though, I just wanted to see if she was looking after Grace properly, which she seems to do."

David watched him suspiciously. "I don't know why Jynx is scared of dogs, she's never mentioned it. And she's not one to bring up her past either, in fact she will change the subject almost immediately if you ask her about it."

Jefferson nodded understandingly. He got up from his bed and started to pace his cell with his arms folded. "It'll be because of the cursed, you know. Something in her past life that made her scared of dogs and scared of her past. I still can't figure out who she is though and I've managed to piece together half of this town."

David rolled his eyes. This guy really was nuts. "Yeah, okay," the deputy replied.

Jefferson raised an eyebrow at him. "You still don't believe yet, Charming? With all the weird stuff that's been happening, you're having no strange dreams at night about living in a castle or learning to swordfight?" the madman prompted.

David shook his head and turned back around in his chair, trying to ignore him. But it was rather odd that he knew about his dreams, though he knew they could never have been memories. Half of them took place on a farm owned by a poor, struggling family and the other half were the memories of a prince that lived in a grand castle. That could never have been the life of the same person. Still, something in David's gut told him that not everything was as it seemed whenever he had these dreams. He had thought about perhaps going to see Dr Hopper about it, but he didn't want to worry Snow…

 _Snow?_ he thought. That was weird; he'd never referred to Mary Margaret as Snow before. Brushing it off as Jefferson rubbing off on him, he was pleased when he heard Killian walk through the door to distract him from his thoughts.

"You told Emma?" he asked his partner.

Killian beamed at him. "Aye, she's thrilled," the sheriff replied.

David smiled. He was really happy Emma was finally going to have Henry living with her. "So, what's the plan?"

Killian settled into his chair and put his feet up on the desk as he usually did. "Knock on Regina's door, wait 'til she answers, arrest her. I want you to take Henry back to Mary Margaret's and I'll bring her back here for some questioning. After that, we lock her up for the night and I'll meet you at Mary Margaret's once everything is sorted.

"What about me?" Jefferson said, his face pressed up between two of the bars. Killian was oddly reminded of that scene from 'The Shining'.

"What about you?" challenged David.

"She's gonna know I'm the one who ratted her out, she'll be out for blood," Jefferson warned.

"So much so that she'll rip through those bars? She's not exactly the Hulk, Jefferson," Killian commented, causing David to chuckle.

"No, she's worse," Jefferson replied to no one in particular as he turned back and flopped on his bed.

David rolled his eyes at the inmate for what seemed like the millionth time today. "Ready to go, Kil?"

Killian smirked at him. "I am more than ready, mate. I cannot wait to see the look on Regina's face."

Within the next five minutes both officers were in Killian's car and on their way to the Mayor's house. Killian kept glancing over at David who was stroking his chin, something he only did when he was miles away in thought. Killian sighed. "What's up, Dave?"

"Hmm?" David grunted, whipping his head around to see what Killian had said.

"I said what's up?"

David twisted his mouth slightly before answering. "I think all this time spent with Jefferson is getting to me. He keeps mentioning all this curse stuff and for all that it's irritating he has some points. I mean, he says no one can remember their past properly so I definitely check that box."

"Dave, you have amnesia," Killian pointed out rationally.

"Secondly," David continued, pretending he hadn't heard Killian, "he was talking earlier about having weird dreams, which I have been. He even specified that I would be having dreams about living in a castle so unless I've fallen asleep on duty and I talk in my sleep, he must be on to something."

Killian's hands tightened around the wheel so that his knuckles went white as he focused his tension away from his face so as not to give anything away. "Look, Dave, the guy's psychotic. He's probably just overheard something and decided to string it out into a story to try and make you doubt yourself. If you're still hung up about it later on then we can see Archie if you really want to, but we're almost at Regina's now," Killian said, anxious to change the subject. The last thing he needed right now was for David to have some kind of flashback while they were arresting Regina because then she would know for sure that they knew about the curse.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's probably nothing," David said, not sounding any more convinced than before.

Killian didn't have time to reassure him though because they were both getting out of the car. They practically skipped up to the door of the Mayor's mansion. Killian caught Henry looking at him from a window and gave him a wink, which Henry returned before the officers knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Regina opened the door.

"What do you want, sheriff? I'm just about to put Henry's supper out," she said in a bored tone.

It was very difficult to keep the smile off Killian's face; he'd wanted to do this for years. "I'm afraid that supper is going to have to wait, Madam Mayor. You're under arrest," he said, trying to sound professional.

"Excuse me?" Regina said incredulously. "How dare you, on what basis?!"

"For an attempt to blackmail one Jefferson Carroll into kidnapping Deputy Emma Swan," David interjected, which was probably a good thing because Killian was finding it very difficult not to laugh.

"That is ridiculous!" Regina shouted.

"I suggest you come quietly, I'm sure making a scene would certainly damage your reputation," Killian said, dangling a pair of handcuffs in front of her.

Regina looked at them in disgust. "I don't think those are necessary, _sheriff_ ," she spat.

"It's protocol, unfortunately," he replied, though it didn't sound as though he thought it was very unfortunate.

"What about Henry?" she asked.

"Oh, so you finally mention him now that you've realised there's nothing you can do about yourself," Killian said maliciously. "We have consulted Dr Hopper and he thinks it best that Henry remains with an officer until you are released, so Deputy Nolan will be taking him to Deputy Swan's apartment." The glee really did show on Killian's face then.

Regina looked like she was about to spontaneously combust. She was practically shaking with fury. "I will not have my son go to live with that jailbird," she all but screamed.

Killian grabbed Regina's wrist and slapped a handcuff around it which stunned her into silence. Killian had went stony-faced now. "I would show a little more respect for the officers that help protect this town if I were you, Regina."

She leaned in to him, equally as angry. "It's still Madam Mayor to you, Jones."

"Not for long."

And with that he tugged on the handcuffs which were now around both her wrists and took her to the backseat of his car. "David, help Henry gather his things and take him to Emma's, I'll meet you there later."

Killian turned back to the house to see Henry coming out to invite David in before he sped away in his car towards the sheriff station, feeling Regina glaring daggers at the back of his head.


	25. Chapter 24: Truth Will Out

**Hey guys! Wow, get me, another chapter within two weeks of the last update? Who is this person?! I couldn't wait to write this chapter, it's been so fun, I can't wait for you all to read it. Seriously, this chapter has taken it out of me. There's so much drama and excitement in this, I could combust just thinking about it! I would just like to put something out there for this chapter though; I clearly have no idea about the law, or court cases, or getting custody or whatever, but for the sake of my story, let's just pretend that I do. Also, just a quick mention because I meant to do this on the last chapter but I forgot so I'll do it on this one. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my best friend who is my inspiration behind Jynx. It was her birthday a couple weeks ago so this one is for her! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this next chapter!~WG**

* * *

Chapter 24: Truth Will Out

Emma and Mary Margaret were standing on two step ladders on opposite sides of the room as they began to tie their 'welcome home' banner for Henry to the beam that ran across the dining area. The smell of freshly made tacos was wafting through the air as they worked. If everything went according to plan Henry would be there within the next ten minutes.

"Are you excited?" Mary Margaret asked, grinning at her roommate.

Emma smiled back at her. "I'm kinda nervous. I just hope that I'm gonna be a good mom," Emma confided in her.

Mary Margaret jumped off her step ladder and went to meet Emma. She took the blonde woman's hands in her own. "You are going to be a great mom," Mary Margaret told her sincerely, her own eyes boring in to Emma's.

Emma squeezed her hand gratefully and stepped down off the ladder. "We should start bringing stuff to the table; they'll be back soon."

Sure enough, as soon as they had finished setting the table David walked through the door with Henry. The second he got through the door Henry ran to Emma and threw his arms around her. Emma smiled down at him as he returned the hug. "Welcome home, kid."

"Thanks, Emma. This is great," Henry replied as he took in the decorations and the food around him.

"Come on, let's put your stuff away and get some food, I'm starving," Emma said.

"I second that," David agreed, staring at the food ravenously.

Mary Margaret rolled her eyes at him. "Do you ever stop eating?"

The deputy shrugged at them. "I'm in a dangerous line of work, I constantly need to be at peak performance," he told them, going over to kiss his girlfriend.

"Yeah, how else is he gonna tackle that mountain of paperwork?" Emma chimed in.

The group laughed together and sat down to eat. Having Henry there didn't seem different at all. In fact, it was like he was meant to be there. Like he'd always sat in that seat at the table. Emma couldn't remember a time where she felt belonging like this; like she was part of a family.

When they finished their tacos they went across to the sofa and put on one of Henry's favourite movies: Lilo and Stitch. About half way through the movie, the sheriff walked into the apartment. Once again, Henry was straight up and running towards him. "Killian!"

Killian picked him up easily and hugged him tight. Emma smiled at the two people she loved most in the world as Killian put him back down. Killian caught her eye and gave her a wink.

"I can't believe you ate all the food and started the movie without me!" he said incredulously.

Mary Margaret shuffled around in David's arms to face him. "I smuggled some tacos in the microwave for you because I knew this one," she said gesturing at David, "wouldn't leave anything for you. They just need heating up."

Killian beamed at her, clearly excited by the prospect of some tacos after his long shift. "I've said it before and I'll say it again; you are a saint, Mary Margaret."

She smiled bashfully and turned her attention back to the movie as Henry returned to the sofa. Emma got up and walked over to the kitchen where Killian was, her arms hugging his waist from behind as he began to work the microwave.

"Regina?" she asked.

Killian turned around in her embrace and locked his own arms around her. "In the cell next to Jefferson. However, we won't be able to keep her there because we didn't find any evidence of the deal being made."

Emma bit her lip at that, her mind wandering to the scenario in which Henry would have to go back to Regina. Killian noticed how her face fell and he caught her chin with his hand to make her look at him. "But," he began. "I got a text off Gold. He's calling in a favour with a judge friend of his to speed the process up. We could have a court order for full custody of Henry by tomorrow."

"That quick?" Emma said, her eyebrows shooting up.

Killian nodded. "As much as I despise Gold, I have to admit that in times such as these he's one to have on our side."

Emma turned around to watch Henry and her two best friends enjoying the movie and smile pulled at her lips. "I never thought I could be this happy," she whispered to Killian as she rested against his chest.

The sheriff planted a kiss on top of her head. "You deserve this, Swan. I know you're going to be a brilliant mum."

Emma smiled to herself as she took in Killian's words. For once she wasn't doubting herself. She loved her son more than anything, and she would be damned if she wasn't going to be a good mother to him.

* * *

Regina's scowl hadn't let up since last night, she was still burning holes into Jefferson's head with her glare. He learnt that the thing that irritated her the most was when he simply smiled at her, so he did this every so often when he stopped whistling his usual tune. Just as he thought Regina was about to snap, the sheriff station door opened and Killian and David walked in with a type of smug swagger.

"Good morning, campers," Killian said with an air of superiority as he stared at Regina. She just glowered back at him, her lip curling slightly.

David rolled his eyes at Killian's games, opting to stay out of it and boot his computer up. Killian reached for the keys in his desk and walked over to Regina's cell. "Now, Madame Mayor. As we have found no hard evidence against you then you are free to go," he said, opening the cell door. She stormed past him and picked up her coat from the stand. "We will still be investigating your house as a potential crime scene so we have rented a room at Granny's for you until we are finished with our investigation."

Killian didn't even bother to wipe the smile off his face when Regina whirled round to face him. "And where is my son supposed to stay, sheriff? It's damaging for him to be living in temporary accommodation."

"Oh, but he's not in temporary accommodation, dearie," came Gold's voice from behind her. Regina raised an eyebrow at him as he handed her a letter. She tore it open and scanned it, her face becoming more furious by the second.

"What the hell is this?" she demanded.

"A court order, stating that you no longer have custody of Henry and full custody has been awarded to his biological mother, Emma Swan," Gold replied indifferently.

Regina was practically shaking with rage, even David had looked up from his computer to watch. "You can't do that," she laughed.

"As a matter of fact, dearie, I can," Gold replied. "If you have any contact with Henry without Miss Swan allowing it then you can be arrested. And you probably will be, all things considered," he said with a nod towards Killian.

Regina was lost for words, completely gobsmacked.

"Well, if you don't have any more questions then I shall be on my way. Good day to you all." Gold spun on his heel and walked out of the station, the sound of his cane echoing like gunshots in the silence of the station.

Regina stood their motionless, her face a picture of anger mixed with desperation.

"Granny will be expecting you to check in no later than 9am, I suggest you'd better leave now, Madame Mayor," Killian declared.

Regina whipped her head round and walked up to Killian so that she was less than a foot away from him. "This isn't over," she threatened.

"Yes, it is," Killian said, his own lip starting to curl now.

With nothing more she could do, Regina stormed out of the station, leaving a smug sheriff, an amused deputy and a slightly-less-than-stable inmate in her wake.

* * *

After Emma had dropped Henry off at school she drove to Granny's to meet August. Killian said August wanted to take Emma's mind off things and he helped to get Mr Gold on side so Emma figured she should thank him for the part he played. She parked her car and found August standing by his bike waiting for her.

"Hey," she said with an easy smile.

"Emma," August smiled back. "You all ready for our day trip out?"

Emma frowned at him curiously. "Are we not just getting a bite at Granny's?"

"That's not a trip out, I'm taking you out of town for the day. What's that old expression? Out of sight, out of mind," he said, tossing her his extra helmet.

Emma caught it easily and quirked a brow at him. "The bike again? Are you allergic to cars or something?" she said sarcastically, getting on the back of the bike anyway.

August shrugged. "It gets us to where we're going faster."

"Where are we going?" Emma asked as August revved his bike up.

"It's a surprise," August replied, with that signature smile he did when he knew something that other people didn't.

It took them just under an hour to get to their destination so Emma had plenty of time just to relax and watch the scenery go by as August wound through the few cars that were on the roads. When they finally pulled up, Emma jumped off the bike and took her helmet off to take in her surroundings. Her blood turned to ice when she realised where they were. It seemed like they were standing outside an ordinary diner but this was no ordinary diner to Emma.

"What the hell is this?" she demanded.

"Last I checked it was a diner," August said, nonchalant as ever.

Emma walked up to him, her heartbeat getting faster as she became more agitated. "No more screwing around. I am not a character in one of your books. What the hell are we doing here?"

August reached inside his pocket for something. "I think you know. You've been here before." He showed Emma a newspaper article, the newspaper article that was about her. "This is the diner you were brought to when you were found as a baby."

"So you found an article about me. So what?" Emma snapped, trying to act like this wasn't freaking her out. "I thought you brought me here to take my mind off things, not tell me my own story."

"I did. This isn't just your story. It's mine," August told her.

"And how is that?" Emma asked with a frown.

August took a deep breath, like he was preparing himself for what he was about to say. "That 7-year-old boy that found you? That was me." August turned round and headed into the woods opposite the diner, knowing Emma would follow him. Whether to chew him out or to listen to what he had to say, he didn't know.

"Why are we in the woods?" Emma asked once she caught up to him.

August meandered through as Emma followed him. "All the answers you've been searching for are right where I found you," he explained.

"See? You're not that 7-year-old boy. I wasn't found in the woods. I was found on the side of the highway. Plus, if you were that boy you would be 7 years older than me and you're only 23. I'm seeing a huge plot hole here."

"Alright, forget the age thing for a second. Why do you think you were found by the road? Because you read it in the newspaper?" August asked, spinning round to face Emma. "Did it ever occur to you that, maybe, that seven year old boy lied about where he found you?"

"No. But it occurs to me that you've been lying to me about everything. And I'm done listening," Emma replied. She turned around to walk back to the bike, feeling hurt and betrayed. August was supposed to be her friend, even if he was a little mysterious. He'd been playing her like a fiddle all this time.

"When I found you, you were wrapped in a blanket," he called after her. Emma stopped in her tracks. "And the name 'Emma' was embroidered along the bottom of it. That wasn't in the article, was it? How would I know that unless I was there?"

Emma's face twisted as she realised he was right, it wasn't mentioned in the article. She stormed back over to him. "Okay. Let's say you were that kid. Why lie about where you found me?"

"I lied to protect you," August replied sincerely.

"From what?"

August pointed to a large tree with a hole in it. "That."

Emma looked at the tree with an unimpressed look on her face. "A tree?" she said incredulously.

"You've read Henry's book, right? You know about the curse, don't you? Your role in it? It's true, Emma. We both came into this world… Through this tree," August implored.

"You're asking me to believe that you are a fairy tale character?"

"Pinocchio," he replied with a wistful smile.

Emma almost laughed at that. "Right, of course. Pinocchio. Explains all the lying. You're the one who added the story to Henry's book."

August nodded. "I needed you to know the truth."

"The truth is, you are out of your mind, and you're not even a very good liar. You still haven't explained how you're somehow 5 years younger than me."

August looked at the tree with an odd expression. "After I brought you to the diner, you wouldn't stop crying. I realised you didn't have your rattle with you and I must have left it in the tree. So I went back for it." August sighed and looked back towards Emma. "The Blue Fairy said that there was only a certain amount of magic in the tree, but there must have been more than she thought. When I leaned in to get your rattle, I fell through to a different realm and landed in a wardrobe where I was found by a family. Since I had no way back they allowed me to live with them," he explained, a soft smile gracing his face. "But I knew I had to find a way to return to help you break the curse. I left there after 6 years, but time moves slower over there. For every 3 years in this realm, only a year would pass over there. So by the time I got back, I was only 13 while you had aged 18 years."

Emma looked at him in disbelief. "That was convenient for your little story, wasn't it? Why didn't you write that in Henry's book? Why didn't you write an ending?"

"Because this is the ending, and we're writing it right now," August replied, moving towards her stiffly.

The blonde eyes him suspiciously. "And how does this story end?"

"With you believing," August stated. Hope was shining in his eyes and Emma could barely stand to look at him.

"Not going to happen." Emma to leave, more determined than ever just to get away from all of this madness.

"Emma? Emma, wait." August began to follow her, but his leg seized up and he fell to the ground.

Emma turned around, trying not to roll her eyes. "What is wrong with your leg?" she demanded.

August laughed bitterly. "I failed," he said.

"What are you talking about?" she was really starting to get tired of all this.

"It doesn't matter. You don't believe."

"If you think that by making me feel sorry for you that something's going to change, you are wrong," Emma said, though she was still a little concerned for him.

Something seemed to have snapped in August. "I am not screwing around here. Whatever you believe, or don't, this is real, Emma. I am sick."

"That's an understatement," Emma muttered.

"You ever been to Phuket?" he asked. Emma frowned at the random question. "It's beautiful. Amazing island, full of pleasures. The perfect place to lose oneself. That's where I was when you decided to stay in Storybrooke."

"How do you know when I decided to stay in Storybrooke?"

"Because at eight fifteen in the morning, I woke up with a shooting pain in my leg. That's eight fifteen at night in Storybrooke," August explained, still clutching his leg. "Sound familiar? That's when time there started to move forward again. I was supposed to be there for you. And I wasn't. Because I was halfway around the world, I got a painful reminder of just how far I'd strayed. If that tree won't make you believe, maybe this will." August began to pull the leg of his jeans up to reveal the polished wood beneath them where his flesh was supposed to be.

"How does that prove anything?" Emma wondered.

August's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Look."

"August, I'm looking," she insisted.

"You don't see it, do you?" he frowned.

Emma shrugged. "See what?"

"Your denial is more powerful than I thought. It's preventing you from seeing truth," August realised.

Emma held her hands up, fed up of all this nonsense. "Okay, one of us is losing it here, and it's not me."

"You don't want to believe. After everything you've seen, why can't you just do it?" August pressed.

"Why is it so important to you that I do?" Emma shouted.

"Because I, the town… Everyone needs you," he shouted back.

Emma was close to the point of tears now. "I don't want them to need me."

"Well, that's too bad, because we all do."

"You're saying that I am responsible for everyone's happiness? That is crap! I didn't ask for that. I don't want it," Emma replied, the tears starting to spill over.

"A little while ago, you didn't want Henry, either. But then, he came to you, and now, you are fighting like hell for him," August pointed out.

"For him! Because that is all I can handle right now. And I'm not even doing a good job at that! Now, you're telling me I have to save everyone? That is beyond ridiculous. I don't want any of it."

August sighed. "Well, that's too bad, Emma, because that doesn't change the truth. You are our only hope."

Emma took one look at him and saw that he really believed that. It was too much for her, no one should have to handle all that responsibility. "Then you're all screwed."

With those few words she saw the last of the hope in August's eyes shatter and fade away.

* * *

It was very rare that the sheriff station was left empty. But today was one of those days. David wasn't coming in until after lunch because he promised to help Jynx with something, so Killian was left to go and pick up lunch and leave Jefferson alone. It wasn't too much trouble really; he was left on his own at night after all. It wasn't like he could go anywhere. However, the situation was ideal for Regina, who was watching from her car that was parked on the opposite side of the road. She watched the cursed pirate leave the building, flicking the collar of his leather jacket up as he walked. It made her blood boil to see him so happy. No one else was meant to be happy except her, and now Regina's happiness had been taking away from her. And she was going to get it back, one way or another. Gold had rejected her offer, so now her only option was the hatter.

Making sure there was no one around to see her sneak in, Regina got out of her car and sauntered over to the station with a box underneath her arm. Her high heels echoed on the tiled floor as she rounded the corner to come face-to-face with the hatter in his cell. He was lying down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling and taking no notice of her.

"Hello, Jefferson," Regina said.

The hatter just lay there for a moment before he swung his legs over the side of his bed to sit up. "Regina," he replied lazily.

Regina paced around the sheriff station, picking the odd bits and pieces up off the desks as Jefferson's eyes followed her around the room. "You know, with everything that has happened to me recently, Jefferson, I've realised something. It must be so painful, your daughter Paige being oh, so near."

Jefferson's gaze became stormy. "Grace," he said, causing Regina to look at him. "Her name is Grace. You should know that – you changed it. What do you want?"

"Your help," she stated simply.

Jefferson scoffed at her. "And what makes you think, I won't kill you after everything you've done?"

Regina placed the box down on the nearest desk. She stalked over to his cell and smirked maliciously. "Because you don't have it in you. If you did, you would have done it twenty-eight years ago when I brought you here. Because you know if I'm dead, you'll never get back to your daughter. And I have a way for us to both get what we want."

The mayor walked back over to the box on the table and opened it. A moment later she pulled out an old, black top hat.

Jefferson's eyes widened. He stumbled off the bed towards the bars of his cell, as if to get a better look at the hat. "My hat," he said, stunned.

Regina nodded. "I want you to use it again."

Jefferson sighed and went back to sitting on his bed dejectedly. "I can't make it work. No one can. Not here. Not without magic."

"Well, then you're in luck, because I happen to have some. Not a lot," Regina said when she saw the new shine in Jefferson's eyes. "But hopefully, enough… For one last journey."

"Where?" Jefferson asked curiously, a frown forming on his face.

"Back to our land where there's a solution to a very delicate problem I have," Regina said, her lip curling at the thought. "How to get rid of the one person who could break my curse."

"Emma. And why shouldn't I let her do just that? End the madness and go home."

"To your hovel? Selling fungus at the fair?" Regina asked. Jefferson twisted his mouth sheepishly. "Why? When you could just stay here in the mansion I gave you? My problem, Jefferson, is the same as yours. It's family. We both want our children back, and we both can get them, if we work together."

"Why should I trust you now? Why should you trust me, you know that confession I gave them was false."

Regina shrugged. "You shouldn't. _I_ shouldn't. But it's the only offer you've got. After we're through, I'll give Grace new memories, and you too if you wish. A clean slate for the both of you. Once we take care of Emma, that is."

Jefferson frowned. He was ashamed to say that he was tempted. He wanted Grace back more than anything, and even though he would get that if the curse was broken, what would she think of him? She would have thought he'd just abandoned her when he was trapped in Wonderland. What if she turned him away? And Regina was right, selling fungus at the fair wasn't the life he wanted for his Grace.

But on the other hand, he would be betraying Killian. Though the sheriff didn't completely trust Jefferson yet, Hook was the only friend Jefferson had ever known. He might not have realised it but having the pirate in Wonderland as someone to confide in was what kept him going on most days. Not only would he be letting Killian down by denying him the chance to get his life back, he would be condemning him to a life of misery; a life without Emma.

Regina saw the hatter's turmoil written all over his face and thought she would help his decision along a little. "I'll leave you alone to decide. I'll be in the cemetery at midnight, meet me there," she said. She handed him a small silver key with a skull at the top of it. "It'll fit for that lock."

The mayor smirked at him again, already knowing that she'd nudged him in the right direction. Regina picked up the box that had the hat in and slipped out of the station before the sheriff came back.

* * *

About 3 o'clock Killian got a weird text from Emma asking him to pick Henry up from school early and meet them at the loft. He texted back asking what all this was about but got no answer, so he left the station straight away. It was only after he picked Henry up that Killian started to worry, and August confirmed his worry with a text saying Emma didn't believe in that she'd taken off in a cab. Before Killian had a chance to text back he heard a key in the lock and turned to see Emma walking through the door. Her eyes landed on him straight away, and she all but ran into his arms. It looked like she had been crying.

"Swan, what is it?" Killian asked, though he knew what it would be.

"Is Henry upstairs?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"Yes, he's playing on that game thing Regina got him," Killian replied with a frown.

Emma nodded and dashed off up the stairs, leaving Killian in the living room thoroughly confused. A moment later Emma was heading back down the stairs with a protesting Henry behind her.

"But you can't!" Henry said.

"Henry, it's for your own good, go back upstairs and get your things," the blonde replied.

Henry was about to argue back before Killian interjected. "Henry, why don't you go back upstairs with your game for a bit?"

The boy saw the secret meaning behind Killian's words and did as he was told. Once he was upstairs, Emma turned to face Killian.

"What the hell is going on, Swan?" Killian asked, placing his hands on the tops of her arms.

Emma's green eyes met his blue ones. "I'm leaving."

Killian blinked at her. "Sorry, I think I misheard you, love," he said with a small smile.

"You didn't," she replied, not breaking eye contact. "I need to get out of here, this town, I should have known this was a bad idea." Emma moved away from Killian and began to pace. "I should never have stayed here."

Killian's heart practically stopped. "I don't understand, Emma. I thought you were happy here."

She paused, struggling to find the words. "I thought I was too. But if today has proved anything to me it's that happiness never lasts, no matter how good it is."

"What happened today? Where's August?"

Emma's face was like thunder when Killian mentioned his name. "I should have trusted your gut instinct with him, you never trusted him. You were right about him all along."

Killian took a step towards her. "Swan, what happened?" he asked again.

"I found out that he's a liar, that's what happened. I thought August was my friend and all he ever did was lie to me, about everything!" Emma began pacing again. "I can't stay here, Killian," she repeated.

"Hang on, slow down," he said. Truth be told, Killian was starting to panic now. If Emma left it would all be over, the curse would never be broken. But more importantly, Killian would lose her forever. "What makes you think August is a liar?"

Emma sighed and sat down at the table, motioning for Killian to come and join her. "He took me to this diner not too far from here. It was the diner I was brought to when I was found by the freeway. Or beside a magical tree, according to our friend Pinocchio. And no, that wasn't a joke, he actually told me that he's Pinocchio."

Killian bit the inside of his cheek, thinking hard about what he was going to say.

"I can't be around all of this curse crap anymore, Killian," Emma told him. "It's too much. And it's not good for Henry either."

Killian frowned at that. "Wait, you're taking Henry with you?"

"I've just got him back. Besides it's what's best for him."

"Who are you trying to convince that with, Emma?" he asked in a harsh tone. "Where will you go? You don't have any apartments just lying around for you to go to. Not to mention you'll be uprooting him from all he's ever known. How is that what's best for him?"

"I know it seems… rash, but it's the only thing we can do. A clean break. You could come with us!"

"What about our work? What about our friends? Mary Margaret?" Killian asked, trying to make her see reason.

"We'll give them a call when we get sorted. Leave them a note explaining," she implored.

"A note?" Killian exclaimed, struggling to keep his voice down. "Emma, do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound?"

"This is the one rational thing I've done since I got here," she defended. How could Killian not understand that this was crazy? "I almost died because of this 'curse'! And now I'm being emotionally manipulated by a guy who claims he's Pinocchio. I have to leave, Killian. It's your choice if you want to come."

Emma got up to leave but Killian grabbed her hand as she walked past. He stood up and took her hands in his as he looked into her eyes. "Emma, you can't go. Not only for my sake, because I love you, Swan, and it would kill me if you left. But for the town. August, he… he was telling the truth."

Killian saw Emma visibly tense up, not to mention how she squeezed his hands without realising. "What are you saying?" she whispered, a raw fear in her eyes.

Killian took a deep breath. "I'm saying the curse is real. And I know you think that this is some sort of joke, but Emma I promise you it's not. Ever since you came to town, I've been having flashbacks and strange dreams of my other life. Please, Emma you have to believe me."

Killian searched her eyes for something, anything, any flicker of emotion. But he saw nothing, and he knew she had flung her walls back up the moment he started speaking. Slowly he started to back away from him, her silent fury becoming more terrifying as time dragged on.

"Emma," he began, but that one words seemed to break the dam that was hiding her emotions.

"Is this all just some big joke to you?!" she shouted, her eyes shining with tears. "You chip away at my walls for months, you tell me you love me, and for what? Just to pull of this huge hoax? My God, I'm such an idiot, that's why you were so adamant that I go and see August today!"

"Emma, it wasn't like that at all! I do love you, how could I possibly fake that?" Killian pleaded.

"Don't, don't you dare say those words to me," she seethed. "All this time you've praying on Henry's imagination for your own private joke and using me along with it!"

Killian saw red at that. "I love that lad like he was my own son, I would rather die than see any harm come to him," he erupted. "You're just finding excuses to run away, like you always do."

"That is not what this is!"

"Of course it bloody is, Emma! The second things get difficult or frightening, you run away. That's why you're alone, you have no one to blame but yourself for that because over the past 10 years you've not let anyone get close to you. And you may be protecting yourself but running away isn't going to protect Henry," Killian shouted back.

"This town isn't good for him! How can you not see that?" Emma retorted.

"He doesn't want to leave, Emma. He'll be miserable if you take him."

"He'll be miserable if he stays!" the blonde replied.

"No, you will be. You're putting yourself first instead of him. You can't do that if you're a parent. I should know, I was the parent in his life before you since you gave him up because you were once again running away!"

Emma physically recoiled at what Killian just said, like he had actually just slapped her in the face. The colour drained away from Killian's cheeks as he registered what he'd just said in the silence that followed.

"Emma, I…"

"You need to leave," she said, her voice dangerously low as her arms folded across her chest.

Killian nodded solemnly and walked out the door without another word.

Henry, who was listening upstairs, (it was pretty hard not to with all the shouting) sat silently on the bed as he listened to his mother's quiet sobs that followed.

* * *

Jefferson sat on the floor in his cell with his legs crossed, once again trying to talk himself out of what he was about to do. He took a look at the clock that hung on the wall and saw that it was 11:46 pm. He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh, knowing he wouldn't be able to resist. He stood up and put the skeleton key in the lock. With one last thought about his new life with his Grace, he turned the key.


	26. Chapter 25: Hard Evidence

**Hey guys! How good am I doing with these updates recently?! I don't know how long it's gonna last but let's just go with it. This chapter is full of drama but not very long because it's leading up to the last episode in season 1. We finally made it! I would like to thank everyone for you continued support with my story!~WG**

* * *

Chapter 25: Hard Evidence

 _The Enchanted Forest…_

At sunrise, a bright green flash shot up from the horizon into the sky as the Black Pearl broke the surface of the water. One by one, the drenched crew emerged from the hull of the ship as their captain stood at the wheel and watched them. "Get to your positions, crew. Today we make port," she barked at them. Once she was satisfied that everyone was doing their job, she walked to the helm of her ship, taking her tricorn hat off to ring out her dark hair.

Liza came up the steps behind her, equally as wet as everyone else. "Do we have a heading, Captain?"

Jack turned around and placed her hat back on her head. "I have one in mind," she replied. "We'll get more supplies, give the crew what they're owed and take a break for a while."

Liza frowned at her. "A break?"

"For the crew, not for me. We're travelling to the port nearest to the beanstalk; I'll be making the journey on my own from there," the captain explained.

Liza placed her hands on her hips. "And what am I supposed to do?"

The captain opened up her compass as she stared out to open sea. "I need you to look after the ship," Jack replied, turning the wheel so they were on the right bearing. "She's had a long journey, and there's no one I trust more to take care of her."

The side of Liza's mouth twitched slightly at the blunt comment. Jack wasn't one for giving or receiving compliments, she just told it how it was. Still, Liza sighed. "I haven't been off this wretched boat in months, Jack."

Jack snapped the compass she was holding shut. "She is a ship, Liza, have some more respect for her." Liza rolled her eyes, but didn't push it anymore. God forbid anyone said anything against the Pearl. "As for not stepping foot on land, why don't you go with the rest of the crew when we make port?"

"Depends on where we're going," Lia replied, narrowing her eyes.

Jack glanced at her sideways and gave her that signature one-sided smile she did when she knew Liza wouldn't like the answer. "Tortuga."

* * *

 _Storybrooke…_

Emma sat on her bed staring at the duffel she had just packed. Her eyes were sore from crying and her voice was raspy. She wanted nothing more than to be snuggled up in Killian's arms as he told her it would be okay. But she knew it was too late for her and Killian now. He was fed up of chasing after her, of breaking down her walls. If that was even real anyway; Emma wasn't sure if it was just an act now. She had thought he was different, that Killian was real, and it only served to disappoint her once again.

Wiping her eyes one last time, Emma took a deep breath and headed downstairs to where Henry was watching a movie.

"You all packed, kid?" Emma asked, trying to make her voice sound stronger than she felt.

"Yeah, it's upstairs in my bag," Henry replied cautiously. He hated seeing his mom like this, and Killian for that matter, but he wasn't too worried. They were True Love after all. "Is that all your stuff?" Henry asked when he noticed the duffel bag hanging from Emma's shoulder.

Emma shrugged. "All I need," she replied.

Henry frowned as he realised what was happening. "Wait. You want to go now? We're leaving now?"

"Uh-huh," Emma nodded. She walked over to the bowel on the kitchen table to grab her keys. "I'm getting you out of here. Away from all this."

Henry jumped up and ran to the door, blocking the exit.

Emma noticed what he was doing and frowned. "Henry, c'mon, go get your stuff," she said sternly.

"No, no. You can't leave Storybrooke! You have to break the curse," Henry insisted.

The blonde crouched down so she was at Henry's eye level. "No, I don't. I have to help you," she replied.

"But you're a hero – you can't run. You have to help everybody," Henry said, desperate to make her see.

Emma took a deep breath. "Henry, I know it's hard for you to see it, but I'm doing what's best for you. That's what you wanted when you brought me to Storybrooke."

"But the curse… You're the only chance to bring back the happy endings!"

"Henry," Emma said as she reached for the door handle. Seeing what she was about to do, Henry dived to the side to block Emma's access to it. "Henry! What were you doing?"

Henry was now crying as he begged her, "Please! Please, don't make me go!" Emma took a step back from him as a pang of guilt struck her chest. "We can't go!" Henry continued. "Everything's here… Me, your parents, your family, Killian. Please, Emma. They need you. Your family needs you."

Emma watched her distraught son for a few more seconds and decided that if she ripped him away from his home then she would be no better than Regina, and that was not the type of mother she wanted to be. "Hey, kid, come here," she said as she held her arms open.

Henry slowly backed away from the door and went into Emma's arms.

"I'm sorry, kid," Emma said as she hugged him. "Listen, you go to bed and we'll sort this out tomorrow sometime, okay?"

Henry nodded at her, before he trudged him the stairs to where his temporary airbed was. Emma watched him go and Killian's voice rang through her head. _You're running away, Swan, and you know it…_

She shook it off and decided to go to bed herself before she faced reality in the morning.

* * *

The next day, David woke up to the sounds of rustling in the kitchen, which he found odd since Killian was never up before him. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he padded into the kitchen with his gun behind his back as an extra precaution. To his amazement he found Killian already dressed and making breakfast. David checked the time and saw that it was only 6:04.

"Morning, Dave," Killian said as he plated up the eggs he had just cooked.

David sat down at the counter with his plate and stared at Killian with his mouth slightly ajar. Upon closer inspection David saw that Killian looked rather dishevelled. His hair was messy as if he'd made no effort to tame it and he had deep, dark circle under his eyes.

"Are you sick?" David blurted out.

Killian shot him a look before he tucked into his breakfast. "Try to do something nice for your housemate," he said jokingly, but he saw that David obviously wasn't buying it. "I'm fine, mate."

"Really?" David asked, arching an eyebrow. "Because for the first time in forever you are up earlier than me, you look like you haven't slept and…" David paused and took note of the slightly spiced smell in the air, "have you been drinking rum?"

Killian rolled his eyes and sighed. "Alright, I didn't sleep," he admitted. "I thought the rum would help me drift off but it didn't. So I got up instead of just lying awake in bed. That's all there is to it."

David got up and reached for his phone. "I'm gonna see if Emma can cover your…"

"NO!" Killian shouted before David had even finished speaking.

David put his phone down and raised an eyebrow at Killian. "All there is to it, huh?"

The sheriff sighed and ran a hand through his unkempt hair. He gestured for David to sit in the seat opposite him. After a brief pause, Killian finally spoke. "Emma and I are done."

David's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What?" he asked. "I thought you guys were happy!"

"So did I," Killian replied bitterly. "She got spooked by… something, and she wanted to leave. I told her she was running away and I let my temper get the better of me. I said some stuff I shouldn't have and I don't think she'll ever forgive me. I'd be amazed if she's even still here."

David blinked at him and sat back in his chair. "Are you sure? I mean, Emma loves you! I'm sure she would have stayed."

"No, she's gone. And if she hasn't gone yet then she will be by the end of today," Killian said.

"I can't believe she would just leave like that, Mary Margaret's gonna be crushed," David stated.

"That's what I said. But she wasn't listening, I can only hope Henry talked her out of it and gave them some more time."

David nodded and checked the clock once more. It was now 6:15. "Well, I'd better get ready. If anything is gonna be able to distract you today, it'll be Jefferson."

David clapped Killian on the shoulder as he walked past and Killian mustered the best smile he could. In reality Jefferson would just serve as a reminder that he had failed, that Emma was never going to break the curse. Though after last night Killian wasn't sure he wanted the curse broken. He had lied to David; he had fallen asleep. But he had the worst nightmare he could ever recall having, and he knew it was his memories. The dream was terribly violent and bloody, and he was the one causing it all. It was like Jefferson said, the Killian he was now was not the Killian that the hatter knew. He was much darker and almost… evil. As much as he wanted the curse broken, he did not want to become that man.

Killian must have been lost in thought because before he knew it David was back and tossing his car keys at him. "Time to go, sheriff."

David decided to fill the silence with some mindless chatter that Killian wasn't really listening to, but he knew he was just trying to distract him from Emma, and for that he was grateful. Though it wasn't really needed as the pain in his left hand had flared up again, and it was the most intense it had ever been. Finally they arrived at the station.

"So Jynx was freaking out, literally standing on top the counter when I got there because one of the…"

David cut off his story as the two men stood completely stunned when they came round the corner. Jefferson's cell was empty. Killian and David looked at each other for a split second before they leapt into action.

"You take the car and go on patrol, I'll see if he's left anything behind that could tell us his whereabouts," Killian ordered, the sheriff in him coming out.

David nodded at him before running back towards the door. Killian turned to the desks and started rummaging through the drawers and the mountains of paperwork. After a few minutes he found a note that was addressed to him. He unfolded it hastily and drank in the words on the page.

 _Killian,_

 _If you're reading this then you're already looking for me. You won't find me. I'm sorry, but I had to do this for my Grace. I hope you break the curse before I go through with whatever Regina wants. And if you do break the curse, I hope you hold onto the man you are now, for all our sakes._

 _Jefferson._

 _p.s. tell David that I'm gonna miss winding him up all the time._

Killian read and re-read the note before he crumpled it up and put it in his pocket. He fell into the nearest chair and placed his head in his hands, his only thought being that he had really fucked up.

* * *

Henry left for school earlier than usual and raced round to Granny's. If anyone would be able to give him any clues as to what was going on with the curse, then it would be August. He walked up to the door of August's room and knocked on it.

"Hang on," he heard August say. The door opened and Henry pushed his way into the room.

"August, please. I need your help. Emma wants to leave," Henry explained quickly.

"What?" August gaped. "Slow down."

"Killian tried to stop her but they had this big fight and now she only wants to leave more. Y-You were going to make her believe. You have to!" Henry implored.

August sighed and looked down. "I know, Henry. I'm sorry. I… I failed," the older man admitted.

"Failed?" Henry asked, tilting his head like a confused puppy.

"I tried to show her. At first it was my legs, and now… Now take a look at the unvarnished truth," August said bitterly. He pulled up his sleeve to reveal the polished wood of his arm.

Henry's eyes widened, half shock and half excitement. "It's wood," he stated.

"Yes," August replied, smiling despite himself.

"All of this… I was right. The curse… It's real!" Henry said with a beaming smile. He had been right! All this time, people thought he was crazy, and he was right!

"You're a smart kid."

"And you're Pinocchio," Henry realised.

"What gave it away?" August said sarcastically.

"But, why are you turning back to wood? Your story… You should be real," Henry replied, confused.

"I'm changing back because… I haven't exactly been a good boy. And, well, if the curse doesn't break, this doesn't stop," the author said forlornly.

"So, we show Emma that you're turning back into the puppet you were, and then, she has to believe. And when she does, she could break the curse!"

"He tried that yesterday," came Killian's voice from the doorway. Henry turned round to see the sheriff and smiled weakly at him. Killian walked forward and placed a hand on Henry's shoulder. "I'm sorry about yesterday, Henry, I know you would have heard everything that was said. I didn't mean any of it, I was just angry and frustrated with your mother," Killian explained.

August frowned at the sheriff. "What's going on?"

Killian looked up at him. "Jefferson's missing," he stated simply.

"Missing?" August asked, his face a picture of surprise. "How is he missing? He was locked up in a cell!"

"I don't know, but he left me this," Killian said, handing August the note he'd left them.

"He's working for Regina? What for?" August said.

Killian shrugged. "It was his only choice to get his child back if we failed to break the curse. I don't blame him considering that we have failed."

"We have to find him! The only thing the Evil Queen would want him for is to help her hurt Emma. We all have to go now." Henry said.

"I can't, Henry," August said, causing Killian to frown. "It's hard to ride and it's hard to walk. Soon, it's going to be hard to breathe," he explained.

"So, we have to do something fast!"

"There's nothing to do," August sighed. "And with what little time I have left, I want to spend it with my father."

"Marco," Henry stated.

August gave him a bittersweet smile. "Told you you're a smart kid."

"So, everyone's giving up," Henry realised, looking between the two adults.

"I'm afraid that I don't have a choice. I'm sorry, kid, but I'm out of Operation Cobra," August replied.

Henry looked up to Killian who was biting the inside of his cheek. "I can't help you with your mum, Henry. She won't even want to look at me after yesterday. But I am going to try to find Jefferson. It's up to you to make Emma believe, though," Killian told him.

Henry nodded at him, more determined than ever to break the curse.

* * *

Emma didn't get out of bed until after noon. She'd avoided being chewed out by Mary Margaret for nearly leaving yesterday because she had seen how devastated she was about Killian. It was all Emma could think of. The guy she loved more than anything else except Henry, and he was a complete fraud. He had played her like a fiddle, all for some joke. She couldn't believe she had kidded herself into thinking it was real. No one could love Emma Swan, it had been proven to her time and time again. And this time she would listen to it.

She still had to get out of this town but as much as she hated to say it, Killian was right – she couldn't take Henry with her. Maybe it was better that she distanced herself from him anyway, that way neither of them could get hurt in the long run. Making her mind up, she grabbed her jacket and headed over to the Mayor's house.

She pulled up outside of the house and walked to the door, the faint scent of apples wafting in the air. Regina answered the door a moment after Emma had rang the bell.

"We need to talk," Emma said bluntly.

Regina regarded her carefully. "Yes, I imagine we do. Come right in," she replied, gesturing for Emma to walk through the door.

"Do what you're so skilled at and make yourself at home," Regina said sarcastically.

"Right. Look, this isn't easy," Emma began as she walked through to the living room with Regina. "I think that this… Whatever is between us, needs to end."

Regina raised her eyebrows. "At last, something we can agree on," she said with a delicate smile.

"I want to make a deal with you about Henry."

Regina's face turned sour. "I'm not making any deals with you…"

"I'm leaving town," Emma cut her off.

Regina blinked for a second. "What?"

"This… What we're doing is a problem, and I'm going to go, but I have conditions," Emma explained. "I still get to see Henry. I get to visit and spend time, whatever."

"And you get to see him. You're still in his life," Regina stated, clearly still not happy.

"Look, in any deal, both parties are a little unhappy. But, let's be honest – we both know the world where I'm not in his life no longer exists, and there's no one who can do anything about that," Emma said strongly. Her position on seeing her son was not going to change.

Before Regina responded the timer for the oven started to beep. A small smile crept over Regina's face. "You're right. Would you mind following me for a moment?" she said. The pair walked into the kitchen where the smell of apples was much stronger and Regina took out the apple turnover she was baking in the oven. "So, what are you proposing?" she asked.

Emma shrugged. "I don't know. Just figure it out as we go," she replied unsurely. It would take time for Emma to sort herself out and she would have to psych herself up for coming back whenever she visited, in case she ran into _him_.

"But he's my son," Regina stated.

"Yeah," Emma replied, though it was difficult. She knew that in order for Regina to agree to her terms she would just have to tell her what she wanted to hear. Emma turned to leave but just before she exited the kitchen she was stopped.

"Oh, Miss Swan? Maybe a little something for the road?" Regina asked, gesturing to her freshly baked goods.

Emma gave her a weak smile. Regina took out a Tupperware contained and placed the pastry inside.

"Thanks," Emma said, walking back over to her.

Regina waved it off. "If we're going to be in each other's lives, it's time we start being cordial. My famous turnovers. Old recipe. But delicious," Regina replied, handing the box over to Emma. "I do hope you like apples," she added with a bright smile.

* * *

A few hours later Emma had packed up her things and was waiting of Henry getting home from school. She knew Mary Margaret was working late that night so she would stop off at the school on her way out of town; it wasn't fair that she would leave without saying goodbye to the woman that had done so much for her. A few minutes late, Henry walked through the door.

"Hey, Emma. Everything okay?" Henry asked.

Emma stared at her son, every bone in her body telling her not to do this, but what choice did she have? "Oh, um… No, I'm okay. Just, um…," Emma began, preparing herself for what she was about to say. "Yesterday, when I tried to take you away, you were right. I can't take you out of Storybrooke. But I can't stay either."

Henry's smile turned into a frown. "What?" he asked.

"I have to go," Emma told him.

"Go? You mean leave Storybrooke?" Henry asked incredulously.

"Yeah. I spoke to Regina, and we made a deal. I'm still going to be able to see you, just not… Every day," Emma explained, trying to make him see the good in the situation.

"No! No, you can't trust her!" Henry retorted.

"I have to. It's my only choice. It's what's best for you, Henry. Every time I fight her, someone else gets hurt," she said, tears starting to brim behind her eyes. This was so much harder than she ever imagined.

"No, no, no! You're just scared," Henry said, remembering what Killian had said yesterday. "This happens to all heroes. It's just the low moment before you fight back."

"Henry! This isn't a story. This is reality. And things have to change. You can't skip school, you can't run away, and… You can't believe in curses."

Henry paused as his last shred of hope shattered. "Y-you really don't believe?"

"I…" Emma tried to explain, seeing how devastated he was. "This is how it has to be right now. I made a deal, and I used my superpower. She's telling the truth. She's going to take really good care of you."

"Yes, but she wants you dead!" Henry implored.

"Come on, Henry!" Emma said, trying to make him see sense.

"You're the only one that can stop her," Henry said.

"Stop her from what? All she's ever done is fight for you. It just… Got out of hand. I'm sorry."

Henry saw that there was nothing else he could do. He was going to lose his mom and in that moment he was just a scared, lonely little boy who needed his parents. He hugged Emma tight to him as she couched down. He opened his eyes and saw a turnover sitting on a plate on the counter. He inhaled through his nose and the faint whiff of apple caused him to tense up.

"Where did you get that?" Henry asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Regina gave it to me," Emma answered, thinking nothing of it.

Henry walked over to confirm his suspicions. "Apple!" he stated, turning back towards Emma.

"So?" Emma asked.

"You can't eat that. It's poison!"

Emma frowned. "What?"

"Don't you see? The deal… It was all a trick to get you to eat that, to get rid of the saviour," Henry insisted.

"Henry, come on. Why would she do that when I just told her I was going to go?" Emma asked, pointing out the holes in Henry's theory.

"Because as long as you're alive, you're a threat to the curse," Henry explained.

Emma took a deep breath. "Henry, you've got to stop thinking like this," she begged him.

"But it's the truth! And you leaving isn't going to change that!"

Emma looked at him and bit her lip. There was only one thing for it. "I'll prove it to you," she replied, reaching for the turnover.

Henry saw what she was going to do and grabbed the turnover before she reached it. "No!" he shouted.

"Henry… What are you doing?" Emma asked.

Once again Henry had hope that he would be able to make her believe. "I'm sorry it had to come to this. You may not believe in the curse… Or in me. But I believe in you." With that he took a bite of the turnover and waited. Nothing happened. Henry frowned in confusion. He had been so sure.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "See? You want to have some ice cream with that? And then we can go back to talking about…"

All of a sudden Henry turned deathly pale and collapsed into a heap on the floor.

A wave of sheer panic washed over Emma. "Henry?" she said cautiously. He might be faking it to try and prove a point. But deep down Emma knew that this wasn't fake. She dived towards him and lifted his head up into her lap. "Henry? Henry!" Before she even knew what she was doing her phone was in her hand calling the first person who came to mind.

"Swan," the voice on the end of the line said.

"Killian," Emma said, he voice shaking.

Immediately she could sense how he tensed up on the other end of the phone. "What is it, Emma?"

The blonde started to cry. "It's Henry. He just collapsed and he's not waking up."

Killian didn't wait for her to say anything else. "Don't move. I'm coming to pick you up and take you both to the hospital. I'll be 5 minutes."

Within 10 minutes Henry was being rolled into a private hospital wing on a gurney with Emma and Killian close behind him. "Killian, what is happening?" Emma asked desperately.

"I don't know, love. But he's in good hands now, they'll figure it out," Killian replied, taking Emma's hand in his. A silent apology resonated with both of them in that moment and it said all the words they didn't have time to say.

A nurse came up to the pair of them to try and block their path. "Ma'am, let me take you to…"

"No, I am not going anywhere!" Emma said, pushing past her to get to Henry with Killian close behind her.

Dr Whale was leaning over him and shining a torch in his eyes. "There's no pupil response. What happened? Did he fall? Hit his head?" he asked Emma.

Emma held out a plastic bag that contained the turnover. "He ate this. I think it's poisoned," she said.

Killian's eyes widened as he took in the pastry.

"His airway's clear. Did he vomit? Any convulsion or disorientation?" Whale continued.

"He took a bite of this, and then he just collapsed. So, run the test for arsenic, or bleach, or Drano, or whatever could've done this to him!" Emma shouted, running out of patience.

Killian took the bag out of Emma's hands and stared at it, praying it wasn't what he thought it was. He opened it up and sniffed, his heart sinking as the smell of apples filled his nostrils. When he found that woman, he was going to kill her.

"The boy is showing no symptoms that would suggest neurotoxins. So, whatever's going on, this is not the culprit."

"Well, what else could it be?" Emma asked, not noticing Killian's intense discomfort.

"I don't know. That's what I'm trying to find out," Dr Whale said as comfortingly as he could.

"He's going to be okay, though, right?" Emma asked anxiously. She felt Killian's hand on her shoulder.

Dr Whale avoided the question. "Right now, we just need to stabilize him, cause he's slipping away. Is there anything else that you can remember? Any little detail?"

"Look, she already told you everything, now just bloody well do your job," Killian growled. Emma had never seen him this tense before, not even when Henry had gotten trapped down the mines or even yesterday when they had their big fight.

"Look, I understand you're both frustrated, I do. But I need something to treat. And, right now, there is no explanation. It's like…" Dr Whale trailed off when he noticed Emma wasn't listening to him. Instead she was rummaging through the contents of Henry's bag as she dumped them on the bed.

"Like magic," Killian said, holding the plastic bag out to Emma. "This is an apple turnover, Emma," he said, his eyes boring into hers as she looked at him helplessly.

For once in her life, Emma decided to take a leap of faith. Even if there was only a tiny chance that it would save her son, she had to believe it. She grabbed Henry's book and a flood of memories flashed behind her eyes. Memories of Mary Margaret with long hair saying goodbye to a baby, memories of David putting the baby in the wardrobe, she even saw the little mobile that hung in Gold's shop. She dropped the book a split second after and gasped, falling into Killian's arms.

"Swan?" he asked, searching her eyes for the smallest glint of hope.

It was a huge realisation, knowing that the curse was real, that Killian hadn't lied to her. She would have been relieved if it wasn't for the situation at hand. She didn't have time to react to it though because at that exact moment Regina came running through the hospital doors.

Every emotion Emma was feeling was channelled into pure rage when she looked at the woman running to her son. When this was all over, Regina was going to pay.


	27. Chapter 26: The Final Battle

**Hey guys! We're finally here! The end of season 1, only took me like 2 and a half years but oh well. A lot has happened over the past two weeks so I'm sorry to keep you waiting for this chapter. I got my A Level results and I got into Durham University which is my first choice uni so I was so happy. And I've been on holiday with my family and then I went on holiday with my boyfriend but I have time to kill until 1st of October. Although I can't promise frequent updates as I have to get all my stuff ready for uni and I'm getting a new laptop so I'll keep you guys updated. Anyway, I'm gonna stop this here and let you guy read the final chapter of season 1, I hope you all enjoy. ~WG**

* * *

Chapter 26: The Final Battle

Regina ran frantically into the room. "Where's my son?" she demanded.

Killian saw Emma's eyes flash dangerously but he made no movement to stop her. He was feeling as much rage towards Regina as Emma was. The blonde surged forward and grabbed Regina's arm, ripping her away from Henry and shoving her into the storage room. Killian thought he would give them some space so he watched the doctors as they worked around Henry.

Meanwhile in the storage room, Emma was fuming. "You did this!" she shouted as she threw Regina into a rack of supplies.

"What the hell are you doing? Stop this!" she retaliated, fighting her way to the door. "My son…"

Emma pinned her up against the wall by her collar. "Is sick because of you! That apple turnover you gave me? He ate it!"

The colour drained out of Regina's face. "What? It was meant for you!" she stated, as if by saying that Emma and Henry would magically trade places.

"It's true, isn't it?" Emma challenged. Her whole body was shaking with her emotions going into overdrive.

"What are you talking about?" Regina masked.

"It's true, isn't it?" the blonde repeated more forcefully. "All of it."

"Yes," the brunette replied, close to tears. Killian walked into the storage room at that point and wasn't at all surprised by the sight that greeted him. In fact, he was only surprised that Regina didn't have a broken nose by now.

"I was leaving town. Why couldn't you just leave things alone?" Emma asked.

"Because as long as you're alive, Henry will never be mine!" Regina shot back, trying to play it off as rational.

"He'll never be anyone's unless you fix this. You wake him up!" Killian growled at her, moving to stand beside Emma.

"I can't!" Regina screeched desperately.

Emma felt her grip loosening at Regina's words. "Don't you have magic?"

"That was the last of it. It was supposed to put you to sleep!"

"What's it going to do to Henry?" Killian asked fearfully.

"I don't know. Magic here is unpredictable," Regina admitted.

Emma's eyes widened. "So… So he could…" she trailed off, not wanting to finish her sentence.

Regina nodded gravely. "Yes."

Killian rubbed his face tiredly and swore under his breath. "So, what do we do?" he asked.

"We need help. There's one other person in this town who knows about this… Knows about magic," Regina told them.

Emma cocked her head to one side. "Mr. Gold," she realised.

"Actually, he goes by Rumpelstiltskin," Regina replied.

At her words, the pain in Killian's hand flared up so much that he had difficulty hiding it. A cruel face with a crooked grin clouded his vision and Killian felt an uncontrollable amount of rage and desperation. As quickly as it had come, it had passed and all that was left was a dull throbbing in his hand.

"Killian, are you okay?" Emma asked him concernedly.

"Aye, love, I'm fine," he said, though he didn't really mean it. "But I think you better go to see Gold without me."

"What, why?" Emma frowned.

"Trust me, I believe that would be for the best," Regina said knowingly, eyeing Killian's hand that he was clutching close to his chest. He looked up at her, wondering if she knew what he'd just seen but he didn't press her.

"Okay, well we'd better hurry," Emma said, noticing the odd expressions on their faces. Whatever that was, they could deal with it later.

* * *

As Emma and Regina raced off to find Gold, Killian went to sit beside Henry's bed. The doctors had stabilised him now, so all they could do was wait. The sheriff sat down wearily in the chair next to Henry and grabbed the boy's hand. He looked so pale, as if he was dead. The thought caused a lump to appear in Killian's throat. He had experienced loss and grief before; he had felt it with Graham and Killian knew he had felt it before this life. But he knew the intensity of all those emotions would pale in comparison to what he would feel if he lost Henry.

Killian took another look at Henry's face and sighed. "You know, Henry," he began. "I don't think I am the man you make me out to be. I've let you down. If only I hadn't given up on Emma, if I'd persuaded her of the truth, then you wouldn't have had to and you wouldn't be here now," he confessed miserably.

He knew that if Henry was awake right now he wouldn't be having any of it. He would say it wasn't Killian's fault, and that he knew what he was doing. But Killian should have been there for him. In that moment Killian swore that no matter what happened, he wouldn't let Henry down again. He would try his hardest to be the man that Henry thought him to be, even though Killian knew there was something dark and twisted deep inside him that would soon be unearthed when the curse was broken. He would try and better himself for the boy he thought of as his son.

* * *

Emma and Regina frantically burst through the door of Gold's shop to see the man in question waiting for them behind the counter. "Do my eyes deceive me, or is that the look of a believer?" he said as he walked round to meet them.

"We need your help," Emma said, getting straight to the point.

Gold simply nodded. "Indeed, you do. It seems quite the tragic ailment has befallen our young friend," he stated, shooting a look at Regina. "I told you, magic comes with a price."

"Henry shouldn't have to pay it," Regina replied.

"No, you should, but alas, we are where we are," Gold shot back. Regina glowered at him.

"Can you help us?" Emma asked, ignoring the argument going on beside her.

Gold turned his attention back to the blonde woman. "Of course. True love, Miss Swan… The only magic powerful enough to transcend realms and break any curse. Luckily for you, I happen to have bottled some."

Regina's eyes bugged out of her head. "You did?"

"Oh, yes," Gold smirked. "From strands of your parents' hair, I made the most powerful potion in all the realm. So powerful, that when I created the dark curse, I placed a single drop on the parchment. Just a little safety valve."

Emma's eyebrows shot up. "That's why I'm the saviour. That's why I can break the curse."

"Now you're getting it."

"I don't care about breaking the curse. All I care about is saving Henry," she told him.

"Which is why it's your lucky day. I didn't use all the potion. I saved some… For a rainy day," he said, smirking at the echo of his previous words.

"Well, it's storming like a bitch. Where is it?" Emma asked.

"Where it is isn't the problem," Gold warned her. "Getting it is what should worry you."

"Enough riddles. What do we do?" Regina demanded.

"You do nothing. It has to be Miss Swan," Gold said, almost ignoring Regina completely.

Regina began to square up to the counter. "He's my son. It should be me," she spat.

"All due respect, but it's her son and it has to be her," he snapped. Regina frowned at him, put out. "She's the product of the magic. She must be the one to find it," he explained.

"I can do it," Emma replied surely.

"Don't trust him," Regina said.

Emma glared daggers at her. "What choice do we have?" she asked incredulously.

"That's right, dearie. What choice do you have?" Gold stared at Regina.

"Where is this magic?" Emma pressed.

Gold turned to Regina with a twisted smile on his face. "Tell me, Your Majesty, is our friend still in the basement?"

Realisation dawned on Regina's face. "Oh, you twisted little imp. You hid it with her?" she all but screeched.

"Oh, no, no. Not with her. In her," he replied, savouring the shocked look on Regina's face. Emma looked between the two and frowned at the exchange between them. "I knew you couldn't resist bringing her over."

"Who is 'her'?" Emma interrupted.

"Someone you should be prepared for. Where you're going, you're going to need this." Gold unlocked the long, wooden box he had been leaning on and flipped it open. Emma peered inside and couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Your father's sword," Gold told her.

Emma went to pick it up gingerly. It was long and almost blinded her when it reflected the light. It was a weird thought; that her father had not only owned a sword but actually used one. It would take some getting used to, but that could wait until later. Right now she had a potion to find.

* * *

Emma returned to the hospital to check on Henry before she went to face 'her', whoever 'her' was. She ran into the room and her heart broke when she saw Killian resting his chin on the bed as he held Henry's hand, utterly powerless as to what was happening. Emma walked over to Killian and ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck as she watched her son's breathing. She felt Killian heave a sigh and he stood up next to her, his eyes widening as he took in the sword that was in her hands.

"Any point in asking, Swan?" he asked her half-jokingly.

Emma gave him a bitter smile which answered his question. "I need you to stay with Henry for me. Gold says I have to be the one to do this, and I really want you to come with me but I can't leave Henry without one of his parents," she said, tears shining like diamonds in her eyes.

Killian nodded at her solemnly. "He would understand, Emma. You're off on some magical quest, he'd only be sad he couldn't go with you," he replied with a small smile.

Emma grabbed Killian's hand and locked eyes with him. "I'm gonna get this cure," she told him.

"There is no doubt in my mind, love," Killian replied, squeezing her hand. He noticed Regina over Emma's shoulder and saw her looking at Henry as though he would shatter into a thousand pieces at any moment. He shot a questioning look at Emma and she shrugged, and that told Killian all he needed to know.

"Although," Killian began, "you won't be any good to anyone if you keep holding your sword like that."

Emma frowned at him but followed him out of the room. "Say what you gotta say, you have ten minutes," she shot at Regina.

Emma closed the door behind her and gave her sword to Killian. He placed two fingers under the blade near to the hilt and lay it horizontally. He nodded to himself. "Not the most well-balanced of swords but you'll get a lot of power in this," he said, and he tossed it up slightly and expertly caught it in his right hand. Emma didn't have time to gawk at him because he was already showing her what to do.

"Alright, the basic grip is just to hold it like a hammer, it'll rest on the heel of your palm," he said, placing the sword in Emma's hands and guiding her fingers around the hilt. "Since this isn't a cutlass it doesn't have a cup so I would advise keeping your thumb beneath the guard instead resting it on the blade. Now, point the sword forward… See how it shifts to the channel between the two bones in your wrist…"

Killian guided the sword through Emma's hands, showing her how to change grips to use the sword to her advantage. Though Emma was listening intently, she couldn't help but frown throughout his explanation. She slid the sword through the scabbard and turned around to look at Killian.

"Guess you must have been a knight before the curse, huh?" she asked with a small smirk despite everything.

Killian didn't smirk back at her the way he usually would, which caused Emma to frown. "Somehow I don't think so, love. Let's not speculate to just disappoint ourselves later down the line," he said.

Emma opened her mouth to ask him what he meant but Regina came out of the room and stormed past her so Emma didn't have time. With a quick peck on the lips, she dashed away from Killian to follow Regina to the library. Killian watched her leave and tried to untangle the knots that had formed in his stomach. _She'll be fine, Jones._

He turned back to walk to Henry's room and saw a familiar face staring at him from the foot of Henry's bed. Killian raised an eyebrow and went over to the hatter.

"Suppose I won't have to send a search party out for you now," Killian said, all mirth drained from his voice.

Jefferson nodded. "I'm sorry, Killian. This is all my fault," he said, his head drooping to the floor.

Killian almost laughed at that. "You know, any other day, you would be a pile of blood and bones on this floor by now," he said, looking Jefferson right in the eye. "But I understand why you did it, even if I don't agree with it." Killian resumed his place at Henry's bedside.

Jefferson frowned at him. "That's it? That's all you're gonna say?"

Killian shrugged. "Jefferson, I would have a hard time rejecting whatever deal Regina offered me if it meant I could save Henry. Besides… I don't have the time or the energy to do my worst to you right now." He said it nonchalantly, but his eyes held the threat that his voice couldn't carry. "But know that if Henry dies, the first to go will be Regina. So that should give you a head start."

"And if he doesn't die?" Jefferson asked.

"Then you will be a very lucky man. But it will still take you some time to get back in my good books," Killian replied.

Jefferson twisted his mouth. "Then I'd better see if I can make it up to you." He began to back out of the room. "Killian," he said. The sheriff grunted to show he was listening. "I hope Henry survives this. Not just for my sake. I didn't mean for any of this to happen and he shouldn't have to pay the price of the magic that has been used." With that, he left the furious sheriff alone with the little boy who already looked like a corpse.

* * *

Emma and Regina walked up to the doors of the library and Regina unlocked the chain around the handles to pushed it open. Emma had never been in the library – apparently it had been shut for years – so she couldn't help but let her eyes wander a bit.

"What is this place?" Emma asked.

Regina rolled her eyes. "Would you like a tour, or shall we just get to it?" she asked sarcastically.

"Lead the way," Emma replied.

Regina crossed the floor to the feature wall opposite that had some sort of reflective pattern on it. She placed her hand at the top corner of the design and pushed it upwards to reveal a set of large, metal double doors covers in brightly coloured LEDs and rusty gears.

"Whoa," Emma gasped. It really was like something out of a fairy tale.

Regina pressed a button on the side and the doors parted. "Get in," she said.

"After you," Emma replied, raising an eyebrow at her.

"It's a two-man job. The elevator's hand-operated. I have to stay up here and lower you down," Regina explained impatiently.

"And I'm just supposed to trust you?" Emma gawked. Was this woman serious?

"I don't think you have much choice in the matter, Miss Swan."

Emma glanced at the elevator. "This battle I'm supposed to fight… Who is it? What is down there?"

"An old friend," Regina said shortly, ambiguous as ever.

"Then why don't you go talk to them?" Emma shot back.

"Because her punishment here was different than everyone else's. I trapped her… In a different form. She doesn't want to hear from me. You have to trust me on that."

Emma frowned. Regina really was the most twisted woman she had ever met. She took a step towards her and looked her in the eye. "Okay. I will go down there. But let's be clear about something, _Your Majesty_ ," she said, spitting out the last two words. "The only reason you're not dead is because I need your help to save Henry. He dies? So do you."

Regina's eyes widened ever-so-slightly as she registered the very real threat behind Emma's words. "Well, then let's get on with it," she replied steadily. "Now, this is what you're going to have to do," Regina continued, ignoring Emma's glare. "When you kill her she'll turn to dust, leaving the potion behind in the ashes. You just need to make sure she dies at an accessible spot so you can easily get to it."

"Got it," Emma responded. She tore her gaze away from Regina and stepped into the elevator and Regina began to lower her down. Anticipation bubbled up inside of her as her thoughts raced around in her head. So much had happened in the last 24 hours. She went from almost leaving town and trying to persuade her son to give up his fantasies only to be proven that it was all real and now she was on some sort of magical quest. Not to mention the fact that Killian had been acting very odd back at the hospital, like he was distancing himself from her. But she couldn't focus on that now; the elevator had reached the bottom.

She was in a tunnel, similar to the mines on the outskirts of town. It would have been pitch black if not for the lights that hung from the ceiling, guiding her forwards. Emma looked down at the gleaming sword in her hands and swung it a couple of times, practising the grips Killian had showed her. She heaved a sigh, deciding she wasn't going to get any better, and walked through the tunnel. The gravel underneath her feet crunched with every step she took, and she prayed whatever this thing was that it didn't have good hearing.

After about five minutes of walking the tunnel opened up into a large cavern with a huge hole in the middle of it that must have went down for miles. About 5 meters away from the entrance lay a dusty glass coffin, just like the one in Henry's book. Emma peered into it, noticing how shards of glass were missing from the intricate design. It kind of gave her the creeps with how ominous it was if she was being honest with herself so she slowly backed away from it until her back came up against a huge boulder.

She sighed. How the hell was she meant to find this thing if she didn't even know what she was looking for? Just as the thought popped into her head, the rock beneath her fingertips began to move, and Emma found herself regretting her previous thought. She whirled around as the thing beneath her reared up in anger. Emma gaped as she took in the dragon in front of her, her grip on her sword loosening with fright. It breathed fire in a great arc above its head, the heat so intense that Emma had to fling an arm up in front of her as she backed away even further.

The dragon reared up once more, this time with its frightful wings coming up to beat furiously. Seeing the side of the dragon's neck glow, Emma realised what was about to happen just in the nick of time and dived around a rock as a blast of heat scorched where she had been just a second ago. There was no time for relief though, because in her panic Emma had dropped her sword, and there was no way she could go back for it because it was right beneath the dragon.

Seeing no other option she sprinted over the slim bridge that connected one side of the cavern to the other, hoping that it wouldn't be able to carry the weight of the dragon. Peering out from behind the pillar, with a sigh of relief she saw she was right. Emma watched as the dragon struggled to get its footing before the rock beneath it collapsed, and the dragon followed it down into the abyss.

Emma almost giggled with the relief she felt before an awful realisation sank in. If the dragon had died down there, that meant the potion was down there! She took a step back from the edge and began to rack her brain as to how she was going to retrieve it. Luckily, or unluckily, she didn't have to think for very long as she dragon flew back up from the depths, wafting the fog away and knocking Emma onto her back. She scrambled back, frantically clawing at the edge of her mind for an idea as the dragon began to stalk towards her. Suddenly, something on her belt snagged on the uneven floor, and her eyes widened as she realised she still had her gun on her.

As she pulled it out, Emma spotted her sword on the other side of the canyon, practically winking at her. She took aim at the dragon's head and arched her gun up slightly to shoot at a stalactite that looked ready to fall at any minute. Her gamble paid off as the stoner dagger fell onto one of the dragon's wings and it roared out in pain, spitting fire above its head. Taking advantage of the distraction, Emma jumped up and dashed round the outside of the crevasse, reaching for her sword as she closed the distance. Her finger closed around the hilt just as the dragon regained a proper flight pattern.

Turning around, she fixed her grip on her sword and took a deep breath. "Hey!" she shouted at it. With one beat of its wings the dragon was 10 meters away from her, but it was over solid ground and that was all Emma needed. She raised the sword above her head and threw it with all her might. It soared through the air straight and true and sank itself right into the belly of the beast. It let out a furious cry before it collapsed into a pile of dust.

Emma let out the breath she didn't realise she had been holding and ran a hand through her hair. Things had definitely changed in the last 24 hours. She dashed over to the pile of ashes and retrieved the two shining objects from it: one was her sword, and the other was a golden egg. Time to go save her son.

* * *

Killian's words echoed in Jefferson's head. _It will still take you some time to get back in my good_ _books_. It was true, Jefferson had betrayed Killian, and for what? Regina wasn't holding up her end of the deal because she didn't like the consequences. Jefferson sat in an empty stockroom at the hospital with his head in his hands, thinking of the way Killian had looked at him. This was not the man he wanted to be.

He stood up and began to pace, racking his brains for a way to make it up to Killian. He only had a limited amount of time, too, because as soon as the curse was broken Killian would most likely be a dead man walking with Rumpelstiltskin on the streets. He stopped pacing abruptly. An idea struck Jefferson like a bolt of lightning. An idea that would allow him to get revenge on Regina for going back on their deal, partly make up for betraying Killian by getting said revenge on Regina, and keep Killian alive for just slightly longer because Rumpelstiltskin would be a bit preoccupied. He knew Regina kept her in the psych ward of the hospital, he had been spying on the town long enough to memorise the code she used whenever she visited. All he needed was something to distract the receptionist. And he was standing in a room full of sedatives. Jefferson gave a twisted smirk. _Well, Your Majesty, you are in trouble._

A few minutes later he had found a nursing uniform and was at the vending machine buying a cup of tea, knowing that this was the time she usually sent someone out to get her a cup. As he headed towards the locked door, he slipped in the sedative while everyone was rushing around, and Jefferson could only pray the commotion wasn't because of Henry. Tossing the remains of the sedative in the bin, he punched the code in and let himself onto the psych ward.

Putting a brilliant smile on, he descended the stairs and offered the receptionist the cup in his hands. "Your tea," he said.

"Thank you," the nurse replied before taking a gulp. "What's the commotion upstairs?" she asked.

"There's a sick boy. He took a bad turn," Jefferson replied as nonchalantly as possible.

"How tragic," the nurse said, though it was apparent she didn't think it was tragic at all. "Is there any hope for a…" the nurses eyes widened before she collapsed with a thud on her desk.

"Recovery? I hope so," Jefferson said to himself. He took the keys off her desk and walked down the corridor, passing a few cell doors. It wasn't exactly a small psych ward considering Storybrooke was supposed to be a small town, but Jefferson supposed this was where Regina put people who she didn't want in the way. He twisted round the corner, past the patient who had a mop and bucket, past the cell that had the label S. Glass on it, and stopped outside the door at the end. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, finding a young woman who, despite being locked up for years, was still very pretty.

"Come with me," he said, holding a hand out to her to help her get off the bed.

She took his hand gingerly and stood up. "Who are you? Why are you doing this?" she asked cautiously.

"My name is Jefferson, and I need your help to do something that I can't. There's a man. His name is Mr Gold. Find him. All you have to do is tell him where you've been, and that Regina locked you up," he explained hurriedly.

The girl blinked confusedly, taking in the information he was throwing at her. "Wait a minute, what?"

"It's very important," Jefferson implored. "Mr Gold's going to protect you, but you have to tell him Regina locked you up. He's going to know what to do. You understand?" he asked, making his eyes wide as if he were talking to a frightened animal.

The girl nodded. "Yes, I-I have to find Mr. Gold," she repeated, a small smile creeping onto her face for the first time in 28 years.

* * *

Meanwhile, Emma was standing in the elevator, clutching the egg tight to her chest as she whizzed up the shaft. She had just killed a dragon. If the situation were different she would have been laughing at how elated she'd be feeling. But she couldn't think of anything else except her son lying in a hospital bed.

Suddenly the elevator grinded to a halt, throwing Emma out of her stupor. "Regina! What the hell was that?" After hearing no answer, Emma looked up the shaft to see if she could see her. "Regina!"

A figure appeared above her that was not Regina, but Mr Gold. "Miss Swan? You got it?"

Emma frowned at him. "Mr Gold, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I've come to check on you. I'm glad I did. Regina abandoned you and sabotaged the elevator," he replied.

A bad feeling flared up in Emma's stomach. Her lie detector was practically screaming at her. "I'm coming up," she said, beginning to climb through the opening of the elevator.

"Now, there's no time for this. You can't possibly scale the wall and carry that," Gold pointed out.

"Yeah? Well, I can try," she shot back.

"No, you can't. Just toss it up," he told her. Emma paused, unsure of whether she should trust him. "Your boy's going to be fine. I promise," he continued sincerely. Emma traced his words for any sign of a lie, but found none. "We're running out of time. Toss it up."

Emma nodded. "You hold on to it. I'll be right up," she said, really hoping she wasn't going to regret what she was about to do. She threw the egg upwards and watched it land easily in Gold's hand. He stared at it briefly before he walked away from the elevator shaft.

"Mr. Gold?" Emma shouted. Her heart sank when she didn't hear a response. "Gold!" Emma desperately scaled the walls, only to find Regina gagged and tied to a chair with Gold nowhere in sight.

"Regina!" Emma exclaimed, running over to her and ripping the tape off her mouth.

Regina cried out at the sharp pain. "He tricked you! How could you give him that?" she asked incredulously.

"Where is he?" Emma asked as she began to untie Regina.

"Gone," the other woman replied hopelessly. "Gold. He manipulated all of this," she spat lividly.

Emma had finally finished untying Regina and helped her to her feet. "Come on, he can't be that far," she said moving towards the door. She was stopped in her tracks by both hers and Regina's phones ringing at the same time. They looked at their phones in dread as their hearts dropped out of their bodies. "It's the hospital," Emma said gravely before answering the phone.

* * *

Back at the hospital, Killian was in hysterics. He was just reading Henry's storybook to him and all of a sudden the machine next to him started beeping. Within seconds there was a team of doctors and nurses around him, including three people who were pulling Killian away from him.

"What's going on? What's happening to him?" Killian demanded.

"Sir, if you could just take a step back and calm down…" a nurse began.

"Calm down?! That's my son, now someone tell me what the bloody hell is going on!" he growled at them. He scrambled to get a look at Henry, barely able to see him over the troop of doctors. Then the pulled the defibrillator out. Killian felt as though the breath had been knocked out of him and he stopped struggling against the nurses. He began to pray to any god he had ever heard of that they wouldn't take Henry away, begged them to take him instead. After what seemed like forever and no time at all, he saw the back of Dr Whale's shoulders heave in a heavy sigh as he turned to look at the clock.

"Don't you dare call it," Killian spat as he surged forwards. The other nurses and doctors began to clear out now, leaving only Killian, Dr Whale and the Mother Superior. "You can't call it, you have to keep trying!"

"Killian, there's nothing more we can do," he said in a placating tone. Killian's eyes widened at his words, the realisation hitting him like a truck. "I'm sorry, sheriff, he's gone."

Killian stumbled back, looking at Henry lying on the hospital bed with the bright orange patches from the defibrillator still stuck to his chest. The Mother Superior muttered something to him about leaving him alone but he wasn't listening to her as he moved towards Henry. Tears burned behind his eyelids, spilling over onto his cheeks as he took Henry's hand. Killian tried to say something, but no words came out when he opened his mouth. Moments later he heard the door open.

He turned to see Emma walk towards the bed, her face the picture of devastation. Killian's heart ached not only for the loss of Henry but also for Emma, who had lost her son all over again.

Emma saw Killian but barely registered that he was there. All she could see was Henry's stark white body contrasting with the blue sheets of the hospital bed. It was like her whole life was laid out in front of her and yet just out of reach. She heard Killian sniff slightly as turned her head to see him come up behind her and place an arm round her waist. That touch broke her final wall and a flood of tears hit her. She all but collapsed into Killian's arms, clawing at his leather jacket as the sobs racked her whole body. Killian simply held her for a couple of minutes, letting her release her anguish before she turned to face reality, to face Henry.

Emma turned round and untangled herself from Killian's embrace as she took a step towards her son. Killian dropped back to let Emma have some space, but kept tight a hold of Henry's hand, as if that was the only thing holding him out of his spiral. Emma leaned forward and brushed a few hairs away from Henry's forehead. "I love you, Henry," she whispered, and she kissed his forehead as Killian brought Henry's hand to his own lips.

Two pulses of light erupted at the same time, one from Henry's forehead and the other from his hand, and they joined together to make one big wave that rippled throughout all of Storybrooke. Quickly after, Henry took a deep breath in and sat up slightly, smiling up at Emma. "I love you, too. You saved me!" he said. Emma hugged him as though she was never going to let go. She had her son back!

Regina gasped from behind them. "You did it," she exclaimed, surprise coating her tone.

It was then Emma realised that Killian had backed off massively, and found him standing at the foot of Henry's bed with an unreadable expression on his face. An expression of confusion and love and loss and… something darker that Emma didn't recognise at all. In fact, everyone in the hospital seemed as though they were wearing a similar expression.

"Henry, what's going on?" Emma asked.

Regina looked around as everyone began to wake up from their haze. "No…" she said as she realised what was happening.

"The curse," Henry said, wearing a small frown. "I think you broke it."

Emma's eyebrows rose as she glanced at Killian. That must be why he looked so weird.

Mother Superior walked up between them. "That was True Love's kiss, from both of you," she said, looking between Emma and Killian.

"No, no!" came Regina's voice, sounding like a petulant child.

Mother Superior, now Blue, turned around to face her. "If I were you, Your Majesty, I would find a place to hide."

"Henry," Regina began, "no matter what you think, no matter what anyone tells you… I do love you."

As she began to move forward, Killian slammed his hand down on the table across Henry's bed to block her path. Or it should have been his hand, but it made a very different sound. "I think that's close enough, don't you, _Your Majesty?_ " he spat. Regina just scowled at him before she turned and fled.

"Killian," Emma said in a timid voice. "Your… hand."

Killian glanced at his hook that was buried in the wood and winced internally. He hadn't meant to show them his hook this soon, it was just instinct when he was blocking Regina. He wrenched his hook out of the wood and turned to face them.

"You're Captain Hook?" came Henry's confused voice. "You're a pirate?"

The look of confusion on Henry's face made Killian's heart split in two, but he couldn't let them see it. So he did the only thing he could do; he put up his own walls.

"It's like I said before, lad. I'm not the man you think I am. Now, as glad as I am to see that you're alright, I really have to be going," he said with a one-sided smirk. As soon as he turned away his smirked dropped and was replaced by pure torment. Killian walked out of the room as quickly as he could without running, just trying to get away from seeing the disgust on their faces when they had realised who he truly was.

* * *

I'm so happy that I've finally finished season 1 because my original idea for this story didn't start at season 1, but at season 2. For my story to work I had to have Killian in Storybrooke but that was too far from the original plot that I couldn't jump straight into season2. So I guess now is where the real writing begins. Also I would just like to address something before I get loads of PMs; the TLK came from both Emma and Killian because I wanted it to be the True Love they share as a family, not just one bond. Hope that clears a couple of things up. Onto season 2! ~WG


End file.
